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20$0KAE0T2 ANTITONH. 



THE 



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OF 



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THE GREEK TEXT REVISED AXD CORRECTED, 



INTRODUCTION AXD CRITICAL AXD EXPLAXATORY XOTES, 



FOR THE USE OF ACADEMIES AXD COLLEGES. 



BY 

M. J. SMEAD, Ph. D., 

PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA. 



/ 

KE¥ YORK: 
D. APPLETOX & COMPANY, 

549 & 551 BROADWAY. 
1871. 



<1, 

\«1 * 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, 

By M. J. SMEAD, Ph. D., 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PEEFACE. 



Ix my Notes to the First Philippic of Demosthe- 
nes, p. 119, I wrote as follows concerning the ancient 
religious festival of the Dionysia : 

" It was here that the simple song, which was sung 
in the festive processions, rose by degrees to the digni- 
ty of dramatic poetry, and Thespis' introduction of a 
special actor to fill up the pauses in the chorus led the 
way to the grandest development known in the history 
of the human mind." 

Adopting this uncontroverted truth as a point of 
departure, I have, in the following Introduction, 
grouped together such notices as I could collect from 
ancient writers and modern authorities, to show that 
the Greek Theatre was essentiallv a religious institu- 
tion, and besides, that there is good ground to conclude 
that the national belief and worship constituted the 
basis of all pure literary and art culture in Greece ; 
consequently, that all sound criticism of a Greek tra- 
gedy, which is the highest work of art, must proceed 



4 PREFACE. 

from that stand-point, and that the distinctive excel- 
lences and peculiarities of yEschylus or Sophocles can- 
not be judged by any modern literary standard, nor 
indeed by any standard outside of themselves. With 
this conviction, and in this view, I have treated the 
Antigone as mainly a religious poem. To the end 
of bringing out the religious motive and tendency 
more clearly, I have presented the fate-legend, of 
which it is a part, both in its primitive epic and later 
tragic form. Lastly, by a careful analysis of the drama 
and its characters I have sought to show how consist- 
ently and logically the idea is carried out by the artist, 
and how, in this ancient life-picture of contending 
forces, the political element is but secondary, and only 
serves to heighten the splendor of the dominant reli- 
gious one by placing the latter in a stronger light. 
This ruling thought has been made duly prominent 
also in the notes, in which, while aiming to explain all 
the difficulties of syntax and poetical diction, I have 
endeavored to supply that aid to the cognitio rerum, 
which is requisite for the full appreciation of the argu- 
ment, and which, as I conceive, deserves to be consid- 
ered the true aim of classical study. 

Athens, Ga., January, 1870. 



I^TKODUCTIOK 



I.— THE CULTUS. 

The Greek Drama, in its origin and growth, was a part 
of the worship of Dionysos (Bacchus). Its germ lay in the 
choral hymns and dances performed around the sacrifice 
burning upon the altar of the god, who was always imagined 
to be present in the mystic symbols and to take delight in 
the honors thus offered to him. From this primitive incep- 
tion, in which the rustic villagers of Bceotia sought to ex- 
press their joy and thankfulness for the gifts of the vine- 
god, to its fullest development in the great national theatres, 
the drama was always deemed an essential requisite of the 
public service of that divinity, and contributed largely to 
the splendor of Ins festivals. 

The drama attained its most perfect form in the hands of 
Sophocles at Athens, which city had long since become the 
chief seat of the Dionysian cultus. The national theatre 
there — that in winch, at the three principal festivals of the 
Dionysia, provided for at the expense of the state (see 
Demos., ii. Phil., and my note, p. 119), all the masterpieces 
of the great dramatists were first brought out — was built on 
the grounds of the Temple of Bacchus on the southern de- 
clivity of the Acropolis. That edifice, which was uncovered, 
and large enough to seat thirty thousand persons, had for its 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

central point the traditional square altar, ascended by steps, 
on which libations were yet offered to the divinity (Plutarch, 
Cim. 8) ; the circular space around it was called the orches- 
tra (i. e., dancing-place, from dpxiofmi, dance), in which, as 
of yore, the cyclic chorus sang their antiphonal dithyrambics 
to rhythmical dances, accompanied by the ancient Phrygian 
flute-music ; the customary Bacchus festal - costume was, 
with a slight change, worn alike by actors and chorus (K. O. 
Midler, iEsch. Eum., pp. 109, 110); the ceremonies were 
presided over by a priest of Bacchus (Schol. Aristoph., Ran., 
v. 297) ; all the externals of the Attic drama prove conclu- 
sively its religious purpose and its identity with the ancient 
Bacchus- worship. 

While, now, it may be said that all the productions of 
the Greek stage bear evident marks, particularly in the 
lyric portions, of having been produced to serve this gen- 
eral purpose — embodying and illustrating, as they do, the 
religious views and moral sentiments of the nation — yet 
in none of the preserved tragedies is the design so appar- 
ent as in the Antigone of Sophocles. In the hope of aid- 
ing the student in obtaining, to some extent, an inner view- 
point whence he may observe more nearly the elements 
employed, and Sophocles' masterly use of them in this play, 
I offer here a brief notice (though necessarily an imperfect 
one) of the cultus of the dramatic Bacchus. 

This cultus was not an independent system of religion, 
but, like that of Apollo, Minerva, Ceres, etc., a subordinate 
one, forming part of the general system of Hellenic belief 
and worship. The Hellenes acknowledged one self-exist- 
ent, supreme divinity — Zeus (Z7/v), who is the beginning, 
middle, and end of . all things ; who, conformably to his na- 
ture, ever moves forward in his own straight course ; * who 

* Compare the ancient doctrine (6 Tra?,acbg /loyoc), cited by Plato, de 
Legg., p. 128, Tauch. " Plato," says Grou, "drew this sublime idea of 
Deity from the verses of Orpheus, quoted by Theodoret in his second 
discourse on Therapeutics. Orpheus," adds that learned bishop, " had 



THE CULTUS. 7 

always sees all and governs all ; * who is constantly attend- 
ed by Yen?], Highty his associate and minister, by whom he 
has fixed the moral order of the world,! and through whom 
he is the executor and vindicator of his own laws, which are 
as unchangeable as himself. J 

In the gradations of rank assigned by popular belief to 
the older and superior gods upon the summit of Mount Olym- 
pus, with Zeus at the apex, and the others ranked according 
to their relation to the Father of gods, or the fancied im- 
portance of their spheres of action, § while the inferior di- 
vinities — sons or daughters of Jove — were, in a descending 
scale, arranged on the sides and at the foot of the mountain, 
we perceive the ideal of the pyramidal statuary group so 
characteristic of religious art in Greece. For art, among 
the ancients, was the handmaid of religion ; and not only 
so, it was itself the highest expression of the divine in man, 
and was employed to symbolize the highest truths. The 
Olympian heaven itself was but a sublime symbol, signifi- 
cant of the subordinate unity of all the known powers of 
the world — those of physical nature being subservient to 
the moral, these to the celestial, and all subject to, and em- 
braced by one omnipotent father and god.jj Eminent an- 
tiquaries have thought that the sacred group, which always 
adorned the triangular pediment of a Grecian temple, was 
intended to give the houses of the gods an impressive 
gTandeur in contrast with the low, flat-roofed dwellings of 

learned it from the Egyptians, and they had received it from the 
Hebrews/' 

* Soph. Antig., 184. f Antig., 451. Plat. Legg., 12S. 

\ J^sch. Prom., 403. Compare the beautiful passage of Soph., R., 
S65 ff. 

§ TVhen Homer represents the gods as partaking together of the ban- 
quet, he doubtless had in mind a court-feast of an Oriental king, where, 
in the assignment of places, careful attention was paid to the rank of the 
guests. 

| Aristot, Metaph., xi., S, Trepiexet rb de'iov ryv b/.r/v oiaiv. 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

men (Herm., Relig. Antiq., p. 81). It seems probable that 
it had a far greater significance : that, inasmuch as every 
part of sacred architecture was highly symbolical (Herm., 
ibid.), the delta-formed gable, with its figures of gods and 
their retinue — technically called the eac/le, aerbg (Aristoph., 
Av. 1109) — was typical of the subordinate god-unity of the 
Greek Cosmos. 

It is well known that the reverence of the powers of 
Nature was the earliest form of Grecian religion ; and the 
matured and enlightened minds of after-ages, so far from 
discarding, as puerile superstitions, the crude notions of 
their simple ancestors, ratified and established them as the 
religion of the state, judging, as Plato says (Philebus, 16), 
that " the primitive men were better than themselves, and 
lived nearer to the gods," sharing with them a common 
table (Aratus Phagnom., 91. Compare Wachsmuth, Gr. 
Antiq., p. 40). 

One of the many forms of religious worship that grew 
out of the adoration of elemental Nature (Plat. Crat., 397, C.) 
was this of the wine-god Bacchus. The ancients conceived 
him, as well as their other divinities, anthropomorphically, 
i. e., as being of human form, as having parentage, birth, 
growth, and history; all these were carefully transmitted 
in the so-called god-mythus, in connection with the worship. 
The mythus of Bacchus was twofold, or rather the younger 
mythus was an offshoot of the elder, showing that there had 
been a schism in the sect. The older, beginning with the 
mysterious birth of Zagreus,* commonly called Iacchus, 
son of Zeus and Demeter, or her daughter Persephone 
(Schol. Ar., Ran., 324), with whom he was associated in the 
celebrated Eleusinian mysteries. The myth had its ori- 
gin, probably, in India, at an incalculably remote period. 
Stripped of its excessive mysticism and Asiatic verbiage, 

* The chief seat of his worship was in the island of Crete, where, in 
an annual festival, his acts, sufferings, and death, were enacted with ap- 
propriate solemnities. — (Herm., p. 353.) 



THE CULTUS. 9 

it meant, according to Welcker's interpretation, that Jupi- 
ter had, in profound secrecy, breathed his own spirit * into 
the noblest gift of earth, the child of lovely Autumn — -Wine, 
who, then brave and daring, sprung up to his father's throne 
and hurled the lightnings. The character of this sect was 
priestly and mystical, and its whole ritual bore the symbol- 
ical stamp of the early times (Herod., viii., 65). The mys- 
tics held their worship of choral singing and dancing at 
night by torchlight, in meadows, on account of the flowers 
(Schol., Aristoph., Ran., 326). The worship of Bacchus was 
brought into Greece by the Pelasgi (Wachsmuth, Antiq., i., 
pp. 37-40). 

On this old sect was grafted the younger and more 
Grecian cultus of Dionysos, son of Zeus and Semele, the 
daughter of the Tyrian Cadmus. His semi-human lineage 
and the Phrygian music, always used in his worship, point 
to Phoenice as the cradle of the new faith (comp. Eurip. 
Bacch., 86). As "the high-priesthood was associated with 
the princely office" (Wachsm., i., 118), we may presume 
that Cadmus himself introduced it in planting and organiz- 
ing his colony of Thebes, f The Greeks, says Herodotus 
(2. 146), reckoned the birth of Dionysos from the time that 
he became known as a god ; and the same author states 
(2. 145) that, from that time to his own, it was 1060 years. 
Putting the birth of the historian at 484 b. c. (Oxford Hist. 
Tab., p. 32), it follows that this worship was first known in 
Greece about 1544 b. c. There is reason to believe that 
for a long time it made but little progress among the 
surrounding Pelasgi, who were slow to recognize the new 
divinity. Euripides, in his Bacchae, gives a picture of the 

* We see in this primeval belief a vague notion of the union of spirit 
with matter. 

f Hence the chorus in Soph. (Ed., R. 210, invokes him as the special 
divinity of Thebes : raad' ettuvv/lcov jag, oivtirca Banxov evcov. This pas- 
sage proves that, at a very early period, Dionysos was known by the 
name of the " Theban Bacchus." 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

deadly opposition shown to him and his supporters ; i 
which tragedy occurs the striking passage proclaiming his 
godhood : TzaWa -&ebv deov Acovvaov (v. 84), cf. II. vi., 
135. Meantime his worship spread into Egypt, where, 
affiliating with that of Osiris, it soon became universal. 
From that country it was brought back by Melampus 
(Herod., 2, 49), who instructed the Greeks in its symbols 
and ritual. 

The Hellenes by whom the cultus was now received, 
had become the dominant race in Greece (Wachsmuth, i., p. 
53) ; they were an impulsive, energetic, chivalrous people, 
gay and enthusiastic, fond of dress and show, and delight- 
ing in splendid armor and military pageantry. These peo- 
ple accorded to the wandering and persecuted Dionysos a 
cordial welcome and congenial home. To them he appeared 
a Joy to r}%e7i — x^?\ ia PporoZoLV (II., xiv., 325), the inspirer 
of a noble enthusiasm, and the nourisher of genius. They 
adopted his worship, however, not merely because it suited 
their nature, but from patriotic vanity ; they considered 
that, in glorifying the offspring of the ancient Theban Cad- 
means, interwoven as these were with the genealogy of the 
Hellenic heroes (Eur. Bacch., 336), they were exalting them- 
selves as well (Wachs., i., 37). Here no such barriers ex- 
isted to change and progress as were found in the foreign 
sacerdotal organizations ; consequently, instead of being a 
religion imposed from without, it required only to be de- 
veloped from within, as the supposed inspiration dictated, 
to modify it to the wants of their nature. It was under the 
immediate teaching and guidance of the gods and muses, as 
Plato claims (de Legg., ii., 40 and 41, Tauch.), that the system 
of choral worship was perfected, which formed the basis of 
Grecian education and culture. The religion of Dionysos 
was an art religion ; in creed and ritual it was the full rec- 
ognition and manifestation of the divine spirit in the human 
being. It was, consequently, an important step above and 
beyond the early materialism. 



THE CULTUS. H 

Its religious and moral teachings did not essentially dif- 
fer from those of other forms of worship. It may be said 
that particular stress was laid upon right, founded upon the 
moral sense and consecrated by custom ; truth in its high, 
general sense ; religious and political wisdom / reverence of 
the gods and obedience to the laws established by them ; 
filial piety, and veneration of the dead. These last are 
prominent motives of action in the Antigone; for which 
reason it may be useful to state somewhat in full the doc- 
trines held by the Greeks of the early ages touching the 
dead. 

According to the Homeric belief, says Yoelcker,* when 
a person departs this life, the t-tv/) leaves the body, and it 
is that whicn survives in the lower world. The word ^'I'X'rj 
in Homer signifies merely breath and life; never, as in 
later usage, the soul, or spirit. It is never said of &vpbg z the 
heart, vooc, the understanding, and utroc, force of mind, 
that they go into Hades ; they cease with the body. The 
spirit is not recognized as a thing of independent existence, 
which lives on separate from the body. It is conceived as 
dependent on the life of the body, and so materially identi- 
fied with it that the dead in Hades possess no mental pow- 
ers, because they have no body ; yet, by chinking the blood 
of the sacrifice poured into the trench, they receive the need- 
ful bodily vigor. The belief in a future existence rested upon 
sensible perception. When a man died a natural death, the 
breath that left the body appeared to the observer to be the 
cause of life and death ; by its departure the man expired. 
That only had gone, and, being itself the source and ground 
of life, it would continue to live. The state and manner of 
that continuance is denoted by the word ddcoAor. signifying 
apparition, image, or likeness — an airy, shadowy shape, in 
feature and form just as the deceased had appeared in life. 
The c'dco/.ov is then the reflex of the impression left on the 
memory of survivors. The early Hellenes could not con- 

* Cited by Nitzsch. Odvss.. rol. Hi., p. 188. 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

ceive of a future life otherwise than as a continuance of all 
the conditions of the present. The nether world is the 
counterpart of the upper world, and the dead carry their 
characters with them. This belief was based upon the ap- 
pearance of the departed in dreams, as we find described in 
Patroclos's appearance to Achilles (Iliad, xxiii., 65, seqq. 
Comp. iEsch. Agam., 116). For as, in our dreams, others 
act and speak merely as our imaginations conceive them as 
doing, so the dead heroes in Homer's nether world have a 
consistent but unreal existence — as if it were a shadowy 
projection of their previous life. In this sense it is conceiv- 
able that the ifjv%rj — sldcdhov in Hades — may have a tivfibg and 
be of the same dispositions as before death : Ajax may hate 
on, Orion can follow the chase, Hercules bend his bow, etc. 
It is an apparent exception to the general principle of be- 
lief when some are described as suffering punishments : 
Sisyphos as rolling the stone, and Tantalos tortured with 
hunger and thirst, while the fruit and water ever recede 
before his opened mouth. * But the older myths, from 
which Homer drew, mentioned a circumstance significant 
for the proper understanding of the poet, viz., that those 
personages had in their lifetime been signally chastised by 
Zeus for their insolent behavior. Their peculiar punish- 
ments, become notorious and incorporated into the marvel- 
lous traditions, were still associated, in the popular mind, 
with the sufferers in the abode of apparitions (comp. Nitzsch, 
Odyss., iii., 320-3). As reflected forms, the ecdo)Xa are not 
and cannot be tormented (ibid., p. 182). 

These ethereal semblances, while bereft of all save a 
negative being, were yet fondly imagined by the " too super- 
stitious " Greeks as vaguely conscious, and pleased with trib- 
utes of affection on the part of living friends. The libations 
(Xoai) and other offerings poured or laid on the graves 
of the departed, the funeral pyres overlaid with costjy 

* Comp. Hor. Sat., i., 68. 



THE CULTUS. 13 

things,* and even the institution of annual games in their 
honor, can scarcely be regarded in any other sense than as 
tokens of love that served to freshen the mutual attachment 
that death had not quite severed. The pouring of blood, 
with incantations expressing desire, was thought especially 
effectual for bringing the loved one near. With time, the 
idea of presence ripened to a belief, which led to invocation 
and worship.! The rare instances of apotheosis, where a 
mortal, for signal benefactions to his race, like Esculapius, 
or Hercules, or Pan, was invested with godlike powers 
(having in life possessed kindred endowments), was honored 
with a regular priesthood, and worshipped with propitiatory 
sacrifices, are of course exceptions to the general rule. 
Another exception hardly less remarkable is celebrated by 
Homer (Od., xi., 95) : it is the case of Teiresias, the blind 
seer (comp. An tig., 942, seqq.), whom Persephone, as a 
special favor, allowed to retain Iris divine gift of prophetic 
vision ; by virtue of which, says Voss, he had been a god 
among mortals, and therefore could not sink so low as the 
other dead (Xitzsch, Od., hi., p. 151). Yet even his ui;;'/), 
though in the possession of vooc and ppevec, cannot recover 
the use of its powers until it has drunk of the blood of the 
sacrifice. It appears that the breath and blood were be- 
lieved to be the two essentials of vitality, and that, until 
blood was supplied to the tyvftai in Hades, these were only 
a phantasm, a nonentity. 

Hence there was not, and could not be, in their belief, 
any such thing as a place of punishment for sin in the 
nether world. The Homeric poems, which give such ample 
delineations of the heroic age, are silent on this point, thus 
affording the clearest evidence that the Grecian mind had 
not yet recognized a future reckoning — a point not reached 

* Nitzsch, Od., iii,, pp. 163-4, 

f Compare the words of Hesiod, quoted by Plato, Rep. v., p. 191, 
Tauch. 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

till long afterward.* Was there then no moral control 
over human conduct, no divine sanctions ? Assuredly : the 
moral restraints were neither less numerous nor less weighty 
with the masses than those which curb men's passions 
now ; for the Greek had literally the fear of the gods before 
his eyes. His religion taught him to dread nothing beyond 
the present life; to believe that the Olympian gods, who 
alone bear rule over the living, punish offences committed 
against them by misfortunes in life, or even by death, that 
is, by annihilation. Zeus, the especial guardian of right, 
took cognizance of all wrong done by man to his fellow- 
man, while above and beyond all lay that gloomy, inscruta- 
ble might called fate, or destiny, which even the gods could 
not withstand, and before which ephemeral mortals were as 
chaff. The duty which the gods first demanded of man 
was submission to their will, acknowledgment of their supe- 
rior power, and of his own proper limit, and refraining from 
all acts and words of overbearing pride (Nitzsch, Od., p. 
183). The fear of destiny, as a moral necessity, was a 
dark cloud that saddened the otherwise gladsome Hellenic 
nature. It hemmed in and shackled its daring spirit. It 
was an ever-raised rod, admonishing to modesty and humil- 
ity, and these were not Greek virtues. On the contrary, 
vPpcg, arrogance, was the easily-besetting sin, the great 
offence which most readily roused the divine wrath. " Pride, 
and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth," \ 
were the hateful things which, in the Oriental belief, were 
with fatal certainty followed by a fall. 

The Hellenic doctrine of destiny was a long stride in 
advance of the blind fatalism of Asia. Indeed, the Grecian 
mind, at a very early period, emancipated itself from the 
intellectual bondage of the East, and, by inaugurating free- 

* The belief in a future judgment is distinctly stated by Plato, de 
Legg., p. 460., Tauch., tyvxyv-duoovra loyov. 

f Prov. viii. 13. SeeAntig., 126, 135. JEsch. Pers., 827. The doc- 
trine is forcibly stated by Plato de Legg., p. 128, T. 



THE CULTUS. 15 

dom of thought and will, not only laid the foundation of its 
own greatness, but gave its character to Western civiliza- 
tion. It has been said that the power of destiny on the 
one hand, and the freedom of the human will on the other, 
constitute the opposite poles of tragedy. It is because this 
antagonism existed in the ancient belief, and, we may say, 
in the ancient life, for that belief was the sum and result 
of all previous human experience. The ancient Greeks, 
with whom life was so largely outward and objective, 
judged that the gods, from jealousy, had prescribed a limit 
to human aspirations ; which limit was a sort of moral dead- 
line, of the transgression of which they alone were the 
guard, judges, and executioners. All great calamities and 
reverses were ascribed to the workings of this law, which 
appeared the more terrible because it was so variable. 
(Xitzsch, Od., i., p. 11. Comp. Soph. Antig., 615—625.) The 
national traditions contained numerous instances of flagrant 
wrong committed by men in high positions, who, being be- 
yond the reach of human justice, were overtaken by fearful 
retributions, and whom vengeance suffered not to live. The 
sin itself, pictured by conscience as a malicious demon, pur- 
sued and bewildered the culprit until his own acts invited 
his destruction. 

In a worship whose professed aim was to produce spirit- 
ual ecstasy and enthusiasm in the worshippers, it was to 
be expected that all proper means should be employed. 
The principal of these means (whatever may be insinuated 
about the free use of wine) was the admission and develop- 
ment of the principle of beauty. To say that a sense of 
the oeautiful was a marked feature of the Grecian mind 
would but faintly characterize its idolatrous devotion to 
whatever was lovely to the eye, harmonious to the ear, 
graceful in movement, symmetrical in form, noble in senti- 
ment, and dignified in action. When that young, emotional 
people conceived their darling divinity as a man in the 
bloom of youth, of almost feminine beauty, with bright- 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

blue eyes and blond hair falling to his shoulders (Boeckh, 
Lect. Gr. Lit.), a nimble and vigorous dancer and powerful 
singer (/3po/.uoc),* does it all signify nothing ? To my view 
it signifies that the apotheosized Dionysos was the repre- 
sentative ideal of Grecian manhood, with all its powers in 
progressive, harmonious development — that his eldcjXov, 
projected into the skies, had become the eltccjv, the express 
image, of whatever was lovely in a handsome and gifted 
race. His cultus in the early centuries w^as the consistent 
expression of this youthful beauty (for the god was identi- 
fied with his worship), and in later times it was the same 
beauty, only more mature and perfect — the serener illus- 
tration of religious wisdom and truth (Ath., 6 ca rovro)v 
Tr\pr\rai rb aaXbv adl ao(ppovcfcbv fjjiGJv). 

It was in Sicyon, a few miles from Corinth, that the 
Dionysian festivals were first regularly celebrated ; and it 
is noteworthy that the same city was the cradle of painting 
and sculpture. f We shall notice in another place the prin- 
ciples common to these arts and the drama, the rise and 
history of which now claim our attention. 

The better to form an idea of the Dionysian ritual, let 
us imagine ourselves in attendance upon one of the three 
annual festivals at Sicyon, previous to the time of Thespis. 
It is a general holiday: the ordinary avocations are sus- 
pended, so as to allow all classes to observe the feast. The 
women are released from their accustomed seclusion ; the 
maidens are even permitted to engage in the choral contest 
[dycjv fiovat/cog). The children are dismissed from their 
exercises ; and the slaves, while waiting on their masters, 
take their full share in the general rejoicings (Herm. Rel. 
Antiq., § 43). Early in the morning the whole community 
from town and country assemble in the consecrated grove. 
Upon the square altar in the middle a fire is burning. The 

* Comp. Horn. Hymn to Bac. : el/il J'ey<y Aidvvaog epij3poiiog. 
f Wachsmuth, Hist. Antiq., i., p. 102. 



THE CULTUS. 17 

priest, standing before it, first proceeds to the ceremony of 
purification. He does this by copiously sprinkling all present 
with holy water, which he has consecrated by plunging into 
it a burning brand from the altar. While his attendants 
are leading up the victim, which is a fatted goat, decked 
with garlands, the dithyrambic chorus of fifty take their 
places on each side of the altar. One-half of these are 
maidens (r]\ii%bpiov), but all are clad alike : all wear the 
gay-colored Dionysian festal costume, which consists of a 
long robe (crro/l?)) falling in broad folds to the feet, of bril- 
liant colors upon a white or saffron ground (Herm., p. 137), 
fastened by a broad girdle, setting high upon the breast, 
and richly embroidered. All have likewise their heads 
crowned with wreaths of ivy (Eurip. Bacch., 81. K. O. 
Muller, ^Esch. Eum., p. 109). 

The priest is ready to begin the sacrifice. Having first 
admonished all present to preserve a reverential silence, 
he sprinkles some parched barleycorns on the neck of the 
animal, and cuts off from its forehead a tuft of hair, which 
he throws into the fire. The victim is then felled to the 
ground by a club, whereat the women utter aloud pious 
ejaculations. The priest then bends upward the face of the 
animal and cuts its throat with the sacrificial knife, holding 
a bowl to receive the blood, with which he sprinkles the 
altar. The animal is then skinned and its body cut in 
pieces ; only the thigh-bones, wrapped around with fat and 
some of the viscera, fall to the share of the god ; the re- 
mainder is reserved for the banquet. The priest and his 
acolytes now take their stand before the altar; the former, 
pouring the (jrrovdal thrice upon the altar, raises his hands 
to heaven and chants the hymn of praise and prayer, com- 
posed in slow, spondaic metre, in which he is joined by his 
assistants, and accompanied by one of them upon the lute 
(cithara). This ended, the priest lays the sacrifice upon the 
fire, and, while the flames rise from it, the chorus sings and 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

dances the dithyrambic ode.* This is a glorification of Dio- 
nysos, touching upon the circumstances of his birth, upon 
his persecutions and sufferings, now upon the joys of his 
worship, the blessedness of banishing cares and banqueting 
at the table of the gods, f and anon interspersing reflections 
of sober wisdom embodying the profoundest human experi- 
ences, and finally celebrating the triumphs and extensive 
sway of the god, when the ode rises to the wildest exulta- 
tion, and ends with an air-rending shout, "Tacche ! " Mark 
we now the manner of its execution. It is a contest— a 
goat (rpdyog) the prize of victory. For many weeks the 
choreutae, chosen for their choral proficiency, have been 
under the training of the poet himself, who is the composer, 
not only of the ode, but also of the music (Plat, de Legg., 
p. 107) and appropriate dances. The hemichor of youths, 
formed in three parallel lines of eight (or four of six) each, 
with their leader at their head, perform the first strophe, 
or turn round the altar. The singing is accompanied by 
the inspiriting Phrygian flute. Observe now the exquisite 
artistic fulness of the dance, which, no less than the lan- 
guage, is made the vehicle of religious sentiment. Far from 
being merely a rhythmical motion of the feet in marking 
the measure, the choral dance calls every member of the 
body into harmonious action, J so that, by means of an ex- 

* Originally x°P°G ^as only a dance (Herm., p. 135). Plato (de Legg., 
p. 41) derives it from X a P a iJ°y, but says it embraced both singing and 
dancing. 

f The festival rites, says Hermann (Rel. Antiq., p. 126), had essen- 
tially the character of a banquet which man gave to the divinity, and at 
the same time shared it with him. 

\ Servius ad Yirg. Eel. : sane ut in religiombus saltaretur, haec ratio 
est, quod nullam niajores nostri partem corporis esse voluerunt quae non sen- 
tiret religionem. That dancing was often the expression of religious joy 
in the East, not only among the Gentiles, but the Hebrews, compare 
Exod. xv. 20, 2 Sam. vi. 14, 1 Chron. xv. 29, Judg. xi. 34, 1 Sam. xviii. 
6, and xxi. 11, Ps. cxlix. 3, Jer. xxxi. 4-13, Lam. v. 15. The reason is 
explained by Plato {de Legg., p. 263), concluding: 6ib /u,ifC7j(ng rcov Xeyo- 



THE CULTUS. 19 

pressive, graceful pantomime, there is produced, so to speak, 
a visible music reflecting the audible (see Plat, de Legg., 
vii., p. 233, T.) — both constituting a faithful interpretation 
of the inward ecstasy — that dancing of the heart which is 
ascribed to the direct power of the god. In dancing, the 
chorus makes a progressive circular movement around the 
altar, while individuals move from the front outward tow- 
ard the rear, and others pass from the rear to the front, 
always describing the arc of a circle (see K. O. Mtiller, Eu- 
men., diagrams), as if imitating the apjDarently progressive 
and retrograde motion of the stars revolving harmoniously 
about a common centre. The hemichor of maidens executes 
the antistrophe in like manner, but in a contrary direction, 
and so on, alternating with that of the youths to the end. 
The dancing, like the poetry and music which it imitates, 
has every variety of movement, sometimes becoming an 
impetuous run, in keeping with the wild flight of thought 
and fantasy, yet always beautiful both to the eye and the 
ear (Boeckh, Lect. Gr. Lit.). 

Next comes a contest of a different order. A rhapso- 
dist, magnificently dressed (Plat. Ion., init.), with a crown of 
gold on his head and a baton in his hand, mounts an ele- 
vated platform, and, after an elegant preface of his own 
(rrpooi(uov) , pronounces several episodes from Homer, or 
some other epic legend, in a finely-modulated, declamatory 
chant, in which he is accompanied by the lyre. With mi- 
nutely-imitative gesticulation, he labors to render his story 
with the utmost dramatic effect. He has scarcely ended, 
when a second rhapsodist rises to compete for the favor of 
the audience by a similar performance. The contest is, who 
shall most effectually entrance the assembly by his recital, 
most vividly depict the great passions and fatal errors of 

fihuv Gx^/mct yevofievT} tt)v bpx^'tKrp) h^eipydaaro T£x vr l v a^a&av. Simi- 
larly, Ath. 1, 27 : Kai egtlv tj toiclvtti bpxVGLS [ii{iT]GLg tqv v~b rf/g /Jgeog 
epfiT/vevfievuv TTpayfidrov, 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

the old heroic families, the descent from which is their high- 
est glory. 

The intermission which follows, allows the unbending 
of all minds and loosening of all tongues. The sober sim- 
plicity of Grecian life all at once gives way to frolic and 
mirth. Humorous sparring, pungent raillery, followed by 
the witty retort in prose or verse — the more ridiculous, the 
better — and loud explosions of laughter, are not only proper 
to the occasion, but are thought pleasing to the festive di- 
vinity. The dignitaries of the city, and even the gods, are 
taken off with burlesque mockery. Spontaneous as it all 
seems, there is method in it, so that we may well suspect it 
was concocted beforehand, particularly as the town wit is 
not entirely concealed by the rustic drollery. A part of 
this diversion is the phallic procession and song, a relic of 
rude Pelasgian symbol-worship, retained by the Sicyonians 
(Ath. xiv., 15. Compare also Aristot. Poet., iv., 14. Herm. 
Eel. Ant., § 279). 

Our attention is now called to the entrance of a second 
chorus, a grotesque masquerade. Its members present fan- 
ciful imitations of Sileni, satyrs, Bacchantes, naiads, nymphs, 
fauns — in short, the whole fabled retinue of Bacchus, rough- 
ly disguised in the hairy skins of animals and appropriate 
masks, or with faces smeared with wine-lees. Their songs 
and dances are coarse caricatures of the festival perform- 
ances of untutored rustics, clumsily acting scenes from my- 
thology. Last on the programme is the banquet, at which 
all sit. The meal is preceded and followed by a song of 
praise and thanksgiving to the gods, for all their gifts. 
We will not follow the postprandial worshippers in their 
mystic service by torchlight, but proceed to notice the de- 
velopment of the drama out of the elements of the Diony- 
sian festival. 

It will be seen that the long interval between the sacri- 
fice and banquet was divided into four parts, and as many 
services or entertainments. From these sprang the three 



THE CULTUS. 21 

principal kinds of dramatic composition,* tragedy, comedy, 
and the satyr drama. Tragedy was formed by a gradual 
mingling of the first two— the dithyrambic chorus and the 
epic rhapsody ; f comedy, which treated the important con- 
cerns of life as petty and ridiculous, J grew out of the third 
part ; and the satyric drama, § which was a parody of trage- 
dy, arose from the fourth, or the masquerade chorus. 

In early times there existed imitative lyric plays^ which 
were called tragedy and comedy ; these were not dramatic 
(Boeckh), but they served as a basis for the drama. Epi- 
genes of Sicyon, who introduced an action by way of inter- 
lude, is mentioned as the originator of the drama. Herod- 
otus has left on record || that the first important innovation 
in the choral-worship was made by the Sicyonians, who, in 
the tragic choruses, celebrated the sufferings of the hero 
Adrastos, King of Argos, thus honoring him above Diony- 
sus. About the same time he says that Clisthenes, the ty- 
rant of Sicyon, retaining the Dionysian choruses, devoted 
the remainder of the festival to Melanippus, a Theban 
prince. Hence, it appears that the rhapsodist, or poet, 
was required to select his episodes for the action from the 
ancient Theban Epos, and that the earliest dramatic pieces, 
formed by the union of the graceful lyric poetry with the 
manly epic, had for their subject the thrilling fate-legends 

* Boeckh, Lect. on Gr. Lit. : Das Drama diente dem Cultus ausschlies- 
slich des Bacchus. Der Chor ist das erste gewesen cms dem es entstanden ist ; 
der wurde spelter durch eine Handlung unterbrochen. {The drama served 
exclusively for the worship of Bacchus. It first originated from the chorus , 
which was afterward interrupted by an action.) — A. Witschel : Die attische 
Tragodie, eine Festfeier des Dionysos. 

f Boeckh, Lect. Gr. Lit. 

% Aristot. Poet., iv., 14 : y 6e enrb rebv ra ^a/Uj/ca [ki;apx6v7uv\. 

§ Boeckh, ibid. : Eine dritte Mischgattung ist das Satyr-drama, wo das 
Sinnliche in einer grossen tragischen Composition dargestellt wird, gleich- 
sam eine Parodie der Tragodie. 

fl Book v., 67. 



22 INTRODUCTION. 

of the house of Cadmus, to which the story of CEdipus and 
his heroic daughter belongs. 

About the year 535 b. c, Thespis, an Attic poet of the 
village of Icaria, made an improvement in the representa- 
tion of such value as to cause him to be regarded as the 
inventor of tragedy. We think we have shown that he 
was not really so. His improvement consisted mainly in a 
skilful arrangement of the choral and epic elements of the 
cultus which lay ready to his hand. Instead of throwing in 
his interludes, as foreign matter, at convenient parts of the 
dithyrambic ode, he conceived the happy idea of interweav- 
ing them so as to form a connected chain of incidents and 
reflections. For this purpose he introduced one actor (that 
was himself) upon the platform ; addressing himself to the 
chorus, he announced the occurrence of events of deep inter- 
est to them, the leader answering or questioning him so 
as to carry forward the plot, and he retiring at intervals, 
when the chorus resumed their song. By means of masks 
changed during his absence from the scene, Thespis is said 
to have personated several characters, and so to have great- 
ly intensified the interest of the whole. For, in this reli- 
gion of ecstasy,* intension of feeling in serious things was 
ever the aim of the tragic poet, as joyous transport was of 
the comic ; and herein, doubtless, is to be sought the chief 
motive of all innovations in the festival worship. Still, for 
a long period, the action was regarded as of minor consid- 
eration, being intended for the cultivation of the people, 
while the dithyrambic chorus, containing more the elements 
of worship, maintained its ascendency, and occupied much the 
larger part of every piece. Even in iEschylus, who greatly 

* This predominant idea was embodied in the Greek verb /fa/c^efo^, 
bacchari. Plato, speaking of the sublime truths taught in the mysteries 
(Phcedo), says that but few are susceptible of that intense religious emo- 
tion. Those truths had reference to the blessedness of the future life in 
store for the good and pure. 



THE CULTUS. 23 

enlarged the sphere of the action by adding a second actor, 
we sometimes find more than half assigned to the chorus. 

The idea of a contest (aycjv) was always a prominent 
one in the drama. Hence an actor was called an agonistes ; 
and when iEschylus employed two actors, the chief was 
called the protagonistes, and the second the deuter agonistes. 
The former personated the most tragic characters, while the 
latter, offering a marked contrast with the other, was often 
made to appear as the author of his antagonist's sufferings 
and fate, and so excited less pity when retribution befell 
himself.* Before the catastrophe, both firmly believe them- 
selves in the right, and cling to their positions with an iron 
tenacity that is daunted by no perils nor sufferings, and, 
just for the want of calm consideration and insight, they 
are hurried into the act which makes their punishment in- 
evitable. In many instances the heroes themselves, being 
obliged to bend before the higher power, at last come to 
the conviction that their chastisement is but the needful 
vindication of the divine law ; and it is just in this recogni- 
tion that the moral purifying force of tragedy lies. For 
while those heroes, impelled by a high motive, strive after 
a noble aim, and, through our common frailty, fall into un- 
looked-for calamities, they awaken the liveliest concern in 
their fate, and, at the same time, awe and dread of the in- 
visible righting power. 

As, according to cosmical propriety, the scene of action 
could not be changed, Sophocles, for the purpose of still 
further enlarging its sphere, added a third actor (trit ago- 
nistes), who, in the character of watchman, servant, or mes- 
senger, narrated what had taken place elsewhere, and thus 
furnished motives for further action. This improvement 
was received with so much favor that it was adopted by 
iEschylus himself, and thereafter remained the rule for all 

* In the Antigone, for example, the protagonistes had the role of An- 
tigone, the most pathetic character, while that of Creon fell to the deu~ 
teragonistes. 



2J. INTRODUCTION. 

the tragic writers. But, in enlarging the plot, Sophocles 
found it necessary to reduce the lyric portions of the drama. 
The result was that these songs became subordinate to the 
action ; instead of preceding, they followed each successive 
episode and generally embodied such feelings and reflec- 
tions as the action upon the stage naturally suggested, at 
the same time observing such happy measure and propor- 
tion as to form a whole of surpassing harmony and beauty. 
In respect to stage costume, there was, according to 
ancient grammarians, a general uniform dress — the tragic 
stola, which was the gay-colored festal robe before men- 
tioned, somewhat amplified, yet very little changed for dif- 
ferent roles. Over this, in the case of heroes and royal per- 
sonages, was thrown a mantle of purple with a gold border 
and other similar trimmings; add to this the character- 
mask, the lofty head-dress of hair crowned with the festive 
wreath, and the deep-soled cothurnus, and we have an idea 
of the stately tragic king, whose mighty voice could be 
heard and understood by thirty thousand spectators. This 
general costume being borne in mind, it can be understood 
how the performance of all the parts of a drama by a few 
actors was practicable, more than three characters never 
speaking in the same scene ; also, we shall feel less inclined 
to wonder at the repugnance of the ancients to increase the 
number of actors, rather permitting different and often very 
unlike roles to be played by one. For this, two reasons 
may be given : the histrionic art in Athens required both 
uncommon natural endowments and incessant practice, and 
even with these but few were able to satisfy the high de- 
mands of an Athenian public. Great agonists were nearly 
as rare as great poets ; and, as the success of a drama de- 
pended very much upon its rendition, the author was most 
careful not to risk it in any but the most approved hands. 
The names of three, to whom Sophocles was largely indebt- 
ed for the adequate representation of his characters, have 
been handed down to us : Kleidemides, Tlepolemos, and 



THE CULTUS. 25 

Kallipides.* Besides these, Timotheus of Zacynthos dis- 
tinguished himself in the character of Ajax.f In the sec- 
ond place, there was no need of the studied disguise and 
complete change of costume which the principles and taste 
of modern times would render necessary. We demand illu- 
sion from the outset ; the ancients, requiring little more 
than a change of character-mask, were always self-conscious, 
and wished to remain self-conscious, that all was only a Di- 
onysian festival (K. O. Miiller, iEsch. Eumen., p. 110). 

Grecian art — including the dramatic as well as the sis- 
ter arts of painting, sculpture, poetry, music, and architect- 
ure — though generally called imitative, aimed at something 
more than imitation. It was an effort to fix in concrete 
form the noblest and purest, that is to say, the religious 
ideas and emotions of highly-gifted men. These ideas 
and emotions were ascribed to the immediate inspira- 
tion of some divine being — more remotely to Zeus himself — 
and, being communicated for the benefit of mortals through 
human media, they were, of necessity, humanly expressed. 
The Greek artist was not therefore the imitator of the out- 
ward or actual in life ; he was no accurate copyist of any 
thing that existed, or that ever had existed, except as an 
imaginary perfection in sesthetical minds. Every form of 
art was an outgrowth of religion — which is evident from 
the fact that every higher gift, and all higher culture, were 
piously referred to the favor of the Muses, the lovely daugh- 
ters of Zeus, dwelling in celestial mansions (Horn. II., ii., 
484-491). Also the vital importance attached to the prod- 
ucts of art in all public worship, as aids to devotional feel- 
ing, admits no doubt of their high religious significance. J 

* Schneidewin, Allgemeine Einleit., p. 22. 

f Idem., Einleit, zum Ajas, p. 19. 

J Ramshorn : adhuc sola paene religio, artis Jingendi quasi mater el aU 
trix. Compare Hermann, Relig. Antiq., § 6 : Wohl fehlten es nicht an Cul- 
te% die zur Ausschnuckung ihrer Tempel und zur Yerherrlichung ihrer 
Gotter die gesteigerten Mittel der Architectur und Plastik in Auspruch 
nahmen, und vi ihren Hymnen und musicalischen Weisen wie in der ganzen 
2 



26 INTRODUCTION. 

Hence, so far as art was an imitation, it was an imitation 
of exquisite conceptions, images of the mind, in which the 
essentials of truth and beauty remain, while the accidentals, 
seen in real life, are discarded. Now, while it is clear that 
there can be no adequate expression of thought without 
matter, it is equally clear that that is the highest effort of 
art in which the largest proportion of spirit has been in- 
fused into the material employed. The form of native 
strength is simplicity, while imitation seeks adventitious 
ornaments, which distract the attention and weaken the im- 
pression. In the latter case, it is the cunning skill of the 
artist that seeks admiration ; in the former, it is the poeti- 
cal (creative) thought that fills the soul. Through this, the 
work becomes ideal and symbolical. The brilliant image 
expressed in the first line of the second book of Ovid's Met- 
amorphoses — 

11 Regia solis erat sublimibus alta columnis " — 

was doubtless borrowed from a Grecian temple; but he 
who first conceived the admirable proportions of such a 
temple must have had his mind impregnated with reverent 
and great thoughts of the sublime abodes of the gods. 
What a contrast with the low, fiat-roofed dwellings of men, 
then universal ; and how infinitely more did the poet-archi- 
tect effect for the promotion of religious reverence among 
an emotional people than thousands of didactic discourses 
could have done ! 

A less yet similar discrepancy was observed between 
actual life and the art-groups of sculpture and painting. 
The placing together of a number of figures does not make 
a work of art, however beautiful and perfect each may be 
It is only when they are subordinated, by posture and ex 
pression, to one central figure, that is, when the individual 

sonstigen Ausstattung ihres Gottesdienstes milder Entwickelung des Kunst- 
geschmacJces gleichen Schritt zu halten suchten, der selbst an dieser Arbeit fur 

I) A3 RELIGIOSE BEDTJRFNISS SEINE WESENTLICHSTE NAHRUNGSQUELLE FAND. 



THE CULTUS. 27 

thoughts and emotions expressed by each converge to and 
intensify the central thought, that they are replete with a 
higher meaning, and, as if in concert, reveal the godlike idea 
: of the artist. If the sculptor or painter had composed 
merely for artistic effect, it is not probable that he would 
have ranged his figures in a straight line, but he appears to 
have been influenced by a feeling of religious decorum that 
required a full delineation of each. Something of the prin- 
ciple of antique representation is observable in Raphael's 
celebrated vision of the Madonna del Sisto, at Dresden, 
whose serene, celestial beauty no one, whatever be his faith, 
can contemplate without having his religious sensibilities 
profoundly moved. 

The unity required of every work of art was kept in view 
also in poetry — unity of action in the epic, of feeling in the 
lyric poem and the music to which it was sung, the details 
being subordinated to singleness of aim, which culminated 
in a high general truth. But, strictly sjDeaking, the old 
Epos could not, from its nature, be a work of art, being in- 
deed merely a chronicle, in which truth and romance were 
treated as of equal value. Formed by successive accretions 
from age to age, it was the only treasury of historical and 
religious knowledge possessed by the Greeks, until the time 
of the Logographs, who preceded Herodotus The Epos, 
with its episodes, may be likened to a long vine, whose 
roots reached back even to the fabled union of Uranus and 
Gaea, and whose countless branches, extending into every 
province, continued to grow down to the age of written 
history. Being the continuous production of the national 
mind, though extremely rich and varied in the forms of its 
development, it possessed great homogeneousness in belief, 
sentiment, and language, and consequently a great degree 
of unity. I take occasion to remark in this connection, that, 
to the reverent Greek, the man of heart still unperverted by 
the atheistical speculations of the sophists (and such we 
must suppose the mass of the nation to have been), the old 



28 INTRODUCTION. 

Epos was the sacred Word, containing the divine oracles, 
and the mind of the gods revealed through inspired men. 
It was composed in poetical form, as every thing was in the 
early time, even to the physician's prescriptions ; but it 
would be a great mistake to assume, as has been often done, 
that the ancient religion was a figment of the poets, and had 
no foundation in the popular heart. That the exact con- 
trary was the case, is proved by the entire remains of an- 
cient monuments and literature, and particularly by the 
writings of Plato, whose pages abound with respectful ref- 
erences to the time-sanctioned rites and doctrines of their 
forefathers, though he thought that the republic would be 
better off without the epic poets than with them (Rep., 11, 
p. 72, seqq.), for he said they tampered with the traditions, 
and misled the people by their corruptions of the faith. 

The wonderful power exerted by the Attic drama over the 
audience was, in a great measure, the effect of its concen- 
tration. Its ideal character not only permitted but re- 
quired its material form to be compressed, and its spirit and 
feeling to be intensified. There was no change of scene to 
break the connection (unity of place) ; the events of days, or 
even of years, were contracted into a few hours (unity of 
time) ; and the dramatic situations were successively the nat- 
ural sequence of one motive (unity of action). Besides 
these three, there was another unity, that of thought. In 
order that the plot might be poetic, it was necessary that 
the ground-thought should have a comprehensive, symboli- 
cal meaning, for therein consisted its high general truth, 
which is the soul of a work of art. The combined result 
of these several unities was a compact oneness, in which its 
simple grandeur consisted. Thus the clearly-defined char- 
acters, presented in successive scenes, resembled a series of 
tableaux vivants without their stiffness, and approximated 
the unity of a plastic group, which, from the nature of its 
material, is fixed to one moment of time.* 

* " Tout est symbolique dans les arts, et la nature se montre sous mille 



THE CULTUS. 29 

The plots (fabulae) of tragedy were all, with a single 
exception (iEsch. Persae), taken from the old Epos above 
mentioned — a vast storehouse of legendary poetry, which 
was the common property of Greece, and from which, as 
later researches have shown, the author (or authors) of 
the Iliad and Odyssey drew like modern compilers (see 
Welcker, Der Epische Cyclos, who is sustained by Boeckh, 
Schneidewin and others). But a slight change was made 
by the tragic poets in the metre : instead of the heroic hex- 
ameter, they employed the iambic trimeter, which, says 
Aristotle, is the metre best adapted to dialogue. 

Tragedy sought to present action and feeling in union, 
so that the latter should pervade the former, as the soul the 
body, at each moment. The feeling, more properly ex- 
pressed in the lyric parts, rises, in moments of anguish, to 
pathos in the action, wiien they coalesce in impassioned 
song. The story was enacted with life-like earnestness — 
quasi agatur — as Cicero says ; hence the drama imitated 
life far more perfectly than either epic or lyric poetry, since 
it imitated not merely its outward appearance, but its inner 
being (Boeckh). Tragedy represented man in the critical 
moments of his existence, in his highest struggles for indi- 
vidual freedom against the divine control. While he 
eagerly pursues his object, all-important to him, he is wont 
to over-estimate his own powers. Headstrong in purpose,, 
nothing can turn him; remonstrances and warnings are 
alike spurned : a deluding spirit makes the right appear 
wrong, and the wrong right ; the man is doomed. With 
impious daring he strides to his goal ; gains his point, but 
loses all besides. He enjoys a brief success, but the sorrow 
that follows guilt is not far off; the avenging Erinnyes are 
upon his track ; calamities thicken, blow upon blow crushes 
his proud heart. 

apparences diverses dans ces statues, dans ces tableaux, dans ces poesies, 
ou l'immobilite doit indiquer le mouvement, ou l'exterieur doit reveler le 
fond de Tame, ou 1'existence d'un instant doit &tre eternise e."— Mad. de 
Stael. 



30 INTRODUCTION. 

11 So fond are mortal men, 
Fallen into wrath divine, 
As their own ruin on themselves to invite, 
Insensate left, or to sense reprobate, 
And with blindness internal struck." 

— Miltox, Samson Agonistes. 

Tragedy demonstrated the real littleness of man and the 
vanity of his endeavors. It laid open his motives, frailties, 
passions, and temptations, to the eye of the spectator. It 
showed that man at his best estate is most liable to that 
self- trust and self-exaltation which, in all ages, have been 
thought to provoke God's anger and correction. It exhib- 
ited the sobs of agony wrung from the rebellious heart, 
gradually subsiding, under chastisement, to a sublime resig- 
nation to the divine decrees. The end of the tragic hero is 
not always sad. The design of punishment is the vindica- 
tion of divine justice. When that end is answered, Prome- 
theus is unchained from his rock,* Orestes is absolved from 
his guilt of matricide, and QEdipus, though the evil he has 
done may be entailed upon his children, is permitted to 
descend to his grave in peace. 



H.— THE MYTHUS. 

The CEdipus-mythus is one of the oldest of the fate- 
fables of Greece. It is one of the sacred legends, embalmed 
in the ancient Epos, which illustrated the stern dealings of 

* iEschylus composed three dramas upon the god-mythus of Prome- 
theus, distinguished by the names of Prom. Ignifer, Vinctus, and Solutus. 
In the last, according to Hyginus, ^Eschylus represented the culprit 
divinity as released from his confinement on Mount Caucasus, where he 
had been bound, standing upright, for thirty thousand years, no longer 
proud and contemptuous, but meek and submissive, after his long 
torture. 



THE MYTHUS. 31 

the gods with presumptuous and self-willed men, and the 
sad heritage of woes entailed upon families by the indul- 
gence of lawless passions. The pathetic interest of the 
story secured for it, from the earliest times, a large place in 
the poetical traditions of the nation, and its eventful char- 
acter peculiarly fitted it for dramatic representation. Prob- 
bably no tale, or saga, ever struck such deep root in the 
affections, or so long possessed the power to stir the sym- 
pathies of a people. This alone is sufficient proof that the 
legend was no fiction, but, like the language with which it 

I was nearly coeval, a genuine, living outgrowth of the Gre- 
cian spirit. No other mythus supplied the theme for so 
many dramas, for, says Ahrens, all the tragic poets tried 
their powers upon it. Yet, of nine * founded upon it by 

, iEschylus, only one — the " Seven against Thebes " — remains 
to us. Three of Sophocles, the three most prized by the 
ancients of all his works, " CEdipus Rex," " CEdipus at Co- 
lonos," and the "Antigone," are still extant. There were 
also three by Euripides from the same legend, only one of 
which, the " Phoenissae," has survived. 

We find in the Homeric poems various allusions to the 
Theban traditions of the house of Cadmus, furnishing evi- 
dence that, previous to the Trojan war, the calamities of 
GEdipus were widely known and celebrated in popular 
song. The principal passage is contained in the Nekyia 
(Odyss., xi., 271), in which Ulysses speaks of the heroic 
women whom he saw in Hades : 

" I saw there also CEdipus' mother, fair Epicaste, who, from blind- 
ness of mind, committed a great deed by marrying her son, who had 
slain and robbed his father. But the gods soon made it a common ru- 
mor among men. He still reigned over the Cadmeans, in beloved 
Thebes, suffering torments by the cruel counsels of the gods, while she 
went down to Orcus, the mighty janitor below, tying the noose high up 
i 

* Divided, according to Welcker, into three trilogies : — 1. Laius, 
Sphinx, (Edipus;* 2. Nemea, Septem ad Thebas, Eleusinii ; 3. Epigoni, 
Argivi, Phoenissa3. 



32 INTRODUCTION. 

to the lofty beam, seized with despair; but to him she left a legacy of 
manifold woes, as many as a mother's curse-furies produce." 

Though we cannot now trace the complete early mythus, 
as it swept before the mind of the poet, yet we must sup- 
pose the lines above rendered to contain, at least, its most 
salient features. They show conclusively that the primitive 
ballad narrative was quite different from the luxuriance and 
artful complications of the tragedy of later ages. The poet 
of the Odyssey knew nothing of any children sprung from 
the incestuous marriage; at all events, the word a(pap, 
forthwith, precludes the assumption that CEdipus and Jo- 
caste remained a long time in error. On the contrary, we 
must understand that the gods quickly intervened to sever 
the shocking union by her suicide. Hence, all that relates 
to their children, as well as to CEdipus' self-blinding, mal- 
treatment by his sons, and flight or banishment from Thebes, 
must be regarded as later accretions. These particulars 
were unknown to Homer or his age. And so, according to 
the tradition then current, CEdipus reigned on in adversity 
and trouble, wrought by the spirit of evil conjured up by his 
mother's curses, until his sudden death in Thebes, where 
funeral-games were instituted in his memory. It is men- 
tioned in the Iliad (xxiii., 679) that King Mecisteus 

(5c) TTore By flags' fik&e deSovrrorog Oldnrddao 
kg rd(f>ov ■ ev&a 6e navrag kvina Kadfceiuvag. 

once travelled to Thebes to attend the funeral anniversary 
{games) of fallen CEdipus, in which he overcame all the 
Cadmeans (Thebans). In this passage dedovnorog is a sig- 
nificant word, describing the manner of CEdipus' death. 
In epic poetry, as was long ago observed by Aristarchus, 
AovTTTjoe irec6v, fragorem edidit cadens, was used to de- 
scribe the fall of a warrior in armor on the field ;* falling at 
full length, he made a heavy sound as he struck the earth. 

* Schol. to II., xvi., 822. Compare II., xiii., 426, dtibnrjoai, fragorem 
edere. 



THE MYTHUS. 33 

So CEdipus, the heroic king, fell dead; and the word 
dsdovTcorog graphically paints him as at last, after a long 
life of struggles, sinking under the blows of fate to the 
earth.* Welcker connects thus : Sedovrrorog eg rdcpov, fallen 
into the grave, which has been condemned as inadmissible 
by Nitzsch and Schneidewin. Well, for the interpretation 
of the whole sentence, his construction w T ould be manifestly 
incongruous; but the words by themselves give a most 
striking poetical image, which Sophocles has not failed to 
take advantage of in describing the last moments of CEdi- 
pus at the brazen steps. (Comp. (Ed. Col., 1590-1666.) And 
not only this scene of thrilling tenderness — it may not be 
too much to say that the whole sublime tragedy (having the 
end of CEdipus for its culminating point) was the poetical 
development of this seed-kernel of thought. 

The above example may serve to illustrate the ideal ex- 
pansion of the whole early mythus, of which we here trace 
the probable general outline : 

CEdipus' father (Laius), having begotten a son in diso- 
bedience to the divine oracle, sought to evade his threatened 
fate by exposing the infant to die. Being miraculously pre- 
served, the son, when a man, met and killed his father on 
the road, not knowing who he was. Arriving then at 
Thebes, he solved the riddle of the Sphinx, and received 
the kingdom, together with the hand of the widowed queen 
Epicaste (Jocaste) ; who, soon after discovering that she 
had married her own son, hung herself in despair, after 
uttering fearful imprecations against him. CEdipus, how- 
ever, continued to reign to old age, but the spirit of ven- 
geance, evoked by his dying mother's curses, ever beset him 
with plagues until, broken with years and griefs, he fell 
and was buried in Thebes, where his memory was greatly 
revered. 

* Sophocles, in his last tragedy ((Ed. Col., 1656, ff.), says that he 
died from no sickness, but that he passed, with a step, from life into the 
grave. 



31 INTRODUCTION. 

This conclusion touching the death-place of CEdipus, 
drawn from the above passage of the Iliad, is confirmed by 
a fragment of the Boeotian Hesiod (Goettling, Fr. 152) : 
ev Q?]j3acg avrov airoftavovroq ktX., (Edipus having died in 
Thebes, Argeia, the daughter of Adrastus, went to his 
funeral services. Consequently, in the whole older Epos, 
down to 850 b. c, there is no trace of an exiled or wander- 
ing CEdipus ; his unintentional crimes do not appear to 
have rendered him unworthy of his kingly office, or de- 
tracted aught from his personal honor. The religious sen- 
timent that shaped the legend, pictured him as the necessary 
victim of a merciless fate, which his parents' sins had en- 
tailed upon him ; so that his singular temptations, trans- 
gressions, and sufferings, were alike misfortunes — a web 
both to ensnare and punish. That he was, from his birth, 
hated and persecuted by the gods, only gave him a stronger 
claim to the sympathy and reverence of men. 

In the following age appeared an epic poem known as 
the cyclic " Thebais," which treated of the Theban tradi- 
tions, and obtained great celebrity. It was composed so 
near the times of Homer that it was, by many of the an- 
cients, attributed to him. The Inscriptio Borgiana ascribes 
it to Arctinus of Miletus. Of the 9,100 verses which it con- 
tained, only a few fragments remain ; but these are suffi- 
cient to show that the domestic woes of CEdipus were 
handled at great length. From all that is known of it, 
we may conjecture that it was a purely legendary poem, 
the growth of time and product of many hands, and that 
isolated episodes of it existed when the Odyssey was com- 
posed. 

The next poem of any note, which developed this myth- 
us, was the cyclic Oidipodia, an epic of 5,600 verses. The 
age of its composition is placed by Schneidewin as early as 
the third Olympiad, 764 b. c, and by Nitzsch * not later than 
the 10th Olymp., 736 b. c. The Inscriptio Borgiana, cited 

* Zu Horn. Odyssee, 111, p. 238. 



THE MYTHUS. 35 

above, gives Cingethon, of Sparta, as its author ; but the 
Scholiast to Eurip. Phcenissge, 1760, recognizes it as the 
work of several writers : Ol ~r\v Oldiriodiav ypdcpovreg.* 
The precious little that remains of it gives no indication 
of how the legend was told, except that it spoke of the 
destruction of life caused by the Sphinx, which finally 
devoured Creon's lovely son Haemon : 

'A?JJ in koIj.wtqv re fcal laepoeGrarov a/./.ov, 
Tzalda tpilwv Kpeiovrog ajivfiovog, Alfiova Slov. 

This is believed to be the only genuine fragment of 
the Oidipodia now in existence. But Pausanias cites with 
approval the substance of a passage in it, stating that CEdi- 
pus > four children icere not by Jocaste, but by his second 
wife, Euryganeia ; which was the version handed down in 
epic poetry. These two poems seem to have been the 
principal channels through which the mythus was trans- 
mitted to the hands of the dramatists. For the logographs, 
Pherecydes and Apollodorus, who wrote in prose, selected 
their stories (XoyoC) from the epic poems most in vogue ; 
the work of the latter, still extant, is a meagre hand-book 
of mythology. Its bare, fragmentary stories suggest the 
idea that they were written from notes taken of episodes, 
as these were recited at religious festivals by the rhapso- 
dists, who, though allowing themselves an interpolation here 
and there, in the main adhered to the text. So far, then, as 
his dead and colorless narratives go, no doubt Apollodorus 
gives the epic version of them. 

* Mad. de Stael echoes the opinion of very many of the classical 
scholars of Germany when she says (" De l'Allemagne," p. 163) : " Unpoeme 
epique rfest presque jamais Vouvrage d'un homme, et les siecles memes, 
pour ainsidire, y travaillent : le patriotisme, la religion, enfin la totalite 
de 1' existence d'un peuple, ne pent etre mise en action que par quelques- 
uns de ces e Tenements immenses que le poete ne cree pas, mais qui lui 
paraissent agrandis par la nuit des temps : les personnages du poeme epi- 
que doivent representer le caractere primitif de la nation. II faut trou- 
ver en eux le moule indestructible dont est sortie l'histoire." 



36 INTRODUCTION. 

Very different was the course pursued by the dramatic 
poets. These, in elaborating the same episodes for scenic 
representation, used the utmost liberty both in alteration 
and embellishment, reverently preserving the spirit of the 
ancient traditions while creating for it a fresh and beautiful 
form. • 

The following imperfect sketch may serve to give the 
student some idea of the later development of the my thus ; 
especially as it w T as handled by iEschylus and Sophocles : 

Laius, son of Labdacus, King of Thebes about 1350 b. c, 
the first link in the tragic chain, was a man of fierce charac- 
ter and ungovernable passions, by which he was betrayed 
into heinous crimes, and so brought guilt and woe upon his 
house. He basely repaid the hospitality of Pelops by ab- 
ducting and shamefully abusing his son Chrysippus, a youth 
of rare beauty, w r ho, in consequence of the outrage, put 
himself to death. Pelops, exasperated by the irreparable 
injury done to his son, followed Laius with fearful execra- 
tions, praying that he might be killed by his own son if he 
ever had one. Laius married Jocaste, the daughter of 
Menceceus and sister of Crepn, and being a long time with- 
out children he became anxious for a son to be the heir of 
his throne. His anxiety was shared by his wife and cour- 
tiers, who persuaded him to consult the Delphic oracle on 
the subject ; he received the following response : " Laius, 
son of Labdacus, thou desirest the boon of children — a son 
will I give thee ; yet it is decreed by fate that thou shalt 
die by his hands. This hath Zeus confirmed, moved thereto 
by Pelops' vengeful imprecations,* because thou hast rav- 

* Among all the Eastern nations there existed a belief that curses, 
for a sufficient cause (i. e., odious crimes, that only the divine judgments 
could adequately punish), were the prayers most certain to be answered. 
Many instances of such belief are recorded in the Old Testament : notice 
particularly Gen. ix. 25., Numb. xxii. 6., Judg. ix. 20, 57 ; and, as to the 
effects of curses, see Deut. xxvii. 15 ff., and xxviii. 16 ff. The ancient 
Greeks stood in great awe of curses, which were solemn appeals to the 
powers of evil to punish abuses of power. The injury provoked the ara, 



THE MYTHUS. 37 

ished his son, he has brought all this upon thee." After the 
lapse of years, however, the warning of the oracle was for- 
gotten or disregarded until the birth of the fatal son, when 
Laius, now seriously alarmed for his life, sought to nullify 
the prediction by destroying the child. He durst not, how- 
ever, commit the unnatural deed himself ; a servant must 
do it. The babe was scarcely three days old when, with 
his wife Jocaste's consent, he delivered it to the intended 
murderer, with its ankle-joints pierced and bound together 
with a thong, charging him to carry it up to the wild 
recesses of Mount Cithseron and there expose it to die. 
This man was one of the king's herdsmen, who kept his 
master's flock on that mountain, and on returning there with 
the child, whose sufferings moved his pity, instead of throw- 
ing him into the woods as he had been charged, he gave 
the boy to a neighboring herdsman, the servant of Polybus, 
King of Corinth, concealing his parentage. The servant 
carried him to Corinth and gave him to his master Polybus, 
who, having no children, placed him in care of his wife 
Merope, and raised him as his own son. The young CEdi- 
pus (i. e., swell-foot,* a name given him from the cause 
above mentioned) grew up to be a young man of rare 
intelligence, beloved by his royal foster-parents, honored as 
a prince by the citizens, and never doubting that he was 
the rightful heir to the throne of Corinth, until one day at a 
feast a drunken comrade taunted him with being a found- 
ling. Though stung by the reproach, he suppressed his 
resentmant for the time, but on the following day he ques- 
tioned his supposed parents as to the truth of it. The king 

the verbal curse, the spirit of which then became an independent demo- 
niacal existence (Erinys), which dogged the steps of the guilty man and 
spun around him a web of ill-luck. The imprecations of a father or 
mother were thought particularly blasting ; comp. Odyss., ii., 135 ; xi., 279 ; 
H, ix., 454 and 571. The epithets employed by Sophocles (Elect. 48Sf.) 
are most graphic : koc rroAvTzovg ml iroAvxeip x a ^ K °~ 0V £ 'E/^vi'f, multipes, 
multimanus, aeripes Erinys. 

* Comp. Aristoph., Ran., 1192, oid&v to node. 



38 INTRODUCTION. 

and queen were deeply incensed at the affront, yet their an* 
swers failed to reassure the young prince in regard to his 
birth. He resolved to end his suspense by consulting the 
oracle of Apollo, and secretly leaving Corinth he set out 
alone and on foot for Delphi. Arriving there, an unknown 
wanderer, he inquired of the oracle who was his father. 
The Pythia's response, so far from solving his doubts, filled 
him with horror and alarm, predicting that he should be the 
murderer of his own father, should be married to his 
mother, and become the father of a race intolerable to 
mankind. The heart of CEdipus revolted at the thought 
of the crimes and disgraces with which necessity beset his 
path, and he determined to escape them, if possible, by not 
returning to Corinth and never again seeing his parents, 
Polybus and Merope. Impelled by this feeling, he took 
the opposite road, that leading from Delphi to the east 
toward the city of Daulis.* A short distance from it the 
road descended into a narrow ravine where three roads met 
(pxiorri odog, Soph. (Ed., R. 733 ).f By fatal chance he 
turned into the right-hand fork, which was the road to 
Thebes. The dell here became so narrow as to allow but 
one wagon-track, with a creek on one side and a precipi- 
tous hill-side on the other. CEdipus was descending this 
narrow defile when he was met by a two-horse chariot, in 
which rode an elderly man and one attendant. In a per- 
emptory tone the driver ordered the young man to yield 
the road. The stalwart CEdipus, already smarting with 
the feeling that he was now a homeless wanderer without 
any fault of his, was not in a mood to brook the rude, and, 
to him, quite unwonted command. He firmly stood his 
ground. The driver attempted to drive on him and force 
him from the way. CEdipus felled him to the ground with 
a blow of his staff. In doing this he approached nearer the 
carriage, observing which the old man thrust him twice in 

* (Edip. Hex, 734. 

f See Kiepert's Atlas von Hellas, map 12, ' 



THE MYTHUS. 39 

the head with his pointed goad. Blinded with passion he 
dealt the old man a blow from which the latter fell back- 
ward dead out of his chariot. He also killed, as he sup- 
posed, all his attendants, who ran up to the defence of their 
master. One of them, however, as was afterward disclosed, 
made his escape to the woods, and returning to Thebes he 
reported to Queen Jocaste that his lord had been set upon 
and murdered by robbers ; whereupon she and her nobles 
went for his body and buried it in Thebes with kingly hon- 
ors. Meanwhile CEdipus, justifying his deed on the ground 
of self-defence, and far from suspecting that he had already 
fulfilled one part of the oracle, pursued his journey east- 
ward into Bceotia, travelling by night and guiding his 
course by the stars, with the aim of getting the farthest 
possible from Corinth and his (supposed) father Polybus. 

King Laius, who had met his predicted fate, as above 
described, was on his way to consult the oracle. Various 
motives have been assigned for the journey. One version 
w^as that, at the same time that CEdipus left Corinth for 
Delphi to learn w^hose son he was, Laius had a frightful 
dream about his abandoned child, and was going in great 
distress to the same oracle to inquire whether his son were 
dead or alive. But, whatever was the trouble that impelled 
him to seek relief from the god of light, the destiny impre- 
cated by Pelops awaited him in the narrow defile of Phocis. 
Laius having, as was supposed, left no heir to the throne, 
Creon, the brother of Jocaste, was invested with the power 
of regent. But he was not permitted to possess the gov- 
ernment long in tranquillity. Whether as a punishment to 
the land for the sins of its late rulers, or to furnish occasion 
for the accomplishment of the fates, it pleased the gods to 
send a grievous scourge upon Thebes. This was the Sphinx, 
a terrible monster, having the head and shoulders of a maid- 
en, with the body and paws of a lioness. The creature 
came from Ethiopia. She prowled about the gates of the 
city seeking her prey, but, had her lair upon a steep hill close 



40 INTRODUCTION. 

by, which thenceforward was called the Sphinx-mountain. 
Her manner of proceeding was to place herself before the 
selected victim and propound to him a riddle, and, when he 
failed to solve it, to devour him. So, many citizens perished, 
and finally a son of Creon himself. The consternation and 
anguish caused by the inexorable singer who was continu- 
ally exacting a tribute of human beings (QEd. R., 36) now 
reached its height. Creon was forced to yield to the 
^pressure ; he issued a proclamation offering the hand of 
Queen Jocaste and the crown of Thebes to whomsoever 
should deliver the city from the fell destroyer. Attracted 
by the brilliant reward, CEdipus left his seclusion and went 
to Thebes. Without asking any questions about the Sphinx 
or her riddle, and unterrified by the danger, he ascended to 
her rocky retreat. He found her crouching on a ledge of 
rock, and calmly presented himself before her. She then 
in a singing voice propounded the following enigma: 
" There is on the earth a being, two-footed, four-footed, 
and three-footed, whose voice is one ; it alters its form only 
as it moves its creeping limbs upon the ground, through 
the air, and in the sea. But when it goes on the most feet, 
it makes the slowest speed with its members." GEdipus 
readily gave the following answer : 

"Listen, albeit unwillingly, ill-omened Muse of the 
dead ! Hear this word of mine involving thy perdition. 
The being thou hast darkly portrayed is man; when he 
creeps on the ground he is a babe on all fours, just from 
the lap; and when old, for a third foot he leans on his 
staff, with his neck bowed and burdened with years." 

The Sphinx, upon hearing this true solution of her enig- 
ma, plunged into the rocky abyss and perished.* CEdipus 

* The obscure allegory of the Sphinx — the human brute, overcome 
by the sagacity of CEdipus — conveyed, doubtless, to those who understood 
it, a significant historical truth. At this day it needs another CEdipus to 
furnish a rational interpretation. The fable seems to intimate how, with 
shrewd cunning, rather than by force, the hero subdued the savage fero- 



THE MYTHUS. 41 

was now revered by the people of Thebes as a man inspired 
with divine wisdom to be their deliverer, and announcing 
himself to be the son of Polybus, King of Corinth, he mar- 
ried the queen and received the kingdom. He now ruled 
for many years happily and prosperously over Thebes, hon- 
ored by all as a brave and wise king, and the kind father of 
his people ; living also in loving concord with his wife 
Jocaste, who bore him four children ; in good understand- 
ing with his brother-in-law Creon, and with the venerable 
seer Teiresias. After a long interval of signal well-being, 
during which CEdipus and his queen became old, and their 
children, Polynices, Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene, grew 
up to be men and women, Thebes was visited with a famine, 
accompanied by a fearful pestilence which carried off men 
and animals. In the plagues that desolated the land, both 
king and people did not fail to perceive the judgments of 
the gods, but how either had incurred their displeasure 
none could tell. Perplexed and hopeless of human aid, 
CEdipus concluded to send his trusted counsellor Creon to 
the Pythian oracle to sue for deliverance. As, meanwhile, 
the distress increased, a solemn procession, composed of old 
and young, with a priest of Jupiter at their head, came, 
carrying olive-branches, and prostrated themselves before 
the palace of the king, supplicating him to find a relief 
from their sufferings. PTe received them with kindly sym- 
pathy, and told them of Creon's mission to Delphi to ascer- 
tain the cause and remedy of the prevailing plagues, and 
that he was anxiously awaiting his return, at the same 
time promising to fulfil Apollo's behests, whatever they 
might be. Creon soon arrives, and, at CEdipus' desire, 
announces the response of the god in the presence of the 

city of the neighboring peoples and brought them within the pale of civil- 
ization. For, those who in the remote periods are called heroes, and are 
represented as vanquishing the monsters of the forest, made it their chief 
task to civilize their countries, and to remove the perils which threat- 
ened society in its infancy, by taming the lawless passions of men. 



42 INTRODUCTION. 

assembled crowd ; saying it was Apollo's command to put 
away the pollution that contaminated and now troubled the 
country, by killing or banishing the murderer of Laius the 
late king. The investigation of the crime, its shocking dis- 
closures and fatal consequences, form the argument of So- 
phocles' " GEdipus Rex." The king prosecutes the search 
after the criminal with unfeigned zeal. He questions 
Creon in relation to the circumstances of the murder ; he 
learns from Queen Jocaste when and where it was com- 
mitted, and what was the personal appearance of Laius, and 
who accompanied him on that journey ; and, hearing at 
last that one of his body-servants had escaped and was yet 
living, he orders him to be sent for. Meantime an aged 
envoy from Corinth arrives, who announces that King Poly- 
bus was dead, and that the Corinthians had chosen CEdipus 
to succeed him. From him CEdipus learns that Polybus 
was not his real father. The old man relates how he him- 
self had taken CEdipus when a babe from another herdsman 
on Mount Cithasron, and had carried him to his childless 
master, who had raised him as his own son. The servant 
of Laius, previously sent for, now arrives, and, being identi- 
fied as the man who gave him the infant with bored ankles, 
he cannot deny the fact. The chain of evidence is unbroken, 
the conclusion irresistible. Jocaste rushes to her chamber, 
and, after the manner of heroic women, hangs herself. CEdi- 
pus, hearing the screams of the servants, hastens into the 
palace, and, as if impelled by a presentiment of calami- 
ty, forces open the folding-doors of the queen's chamber, 
where, seeing Jocaste suspended over the marriage-bed, he 
loosens the rope and lays her down, already dead, while 
loud groans burst from his heart. Then, seized witn a wild 
despair, he snatches out the golden brooch-pins, with which 
her mantle was fastened, and drives them repeatedly into 
his eyeballs, exclaiming that they should never look upon 
the evils he suffered and committed, nor again behold the 
children they ought never to have seen. Then, with his 



THE MYTHUS. 43 

cheeks streaming with blood, he goes forth to show himself 
to his subjects as the confessed murderer of his father, and 
husband of his mother ; bemoaning his acute physical and 
mental sufferings, cursing the man who had preserved his 
life, • and bitterly regretting the whole chain of causes 
which had brought him to this unspeakable shame and mis- 
ery, he entreats them to hide him from sight far away from 
Thebes, or cast him into the sea. The elders of the city, 
to whom the agonized king addresses this entreaty, decline 
taking any responsibility, and refer him to Creon, who, by 
CEdipus' self-disqualification, becomes sole guardian in his 
stead. To him then he makes the same request, not only 
on his account, but on Creon's, to send him out of the 
country ; and, in order to remove Creon's scruples, he ap- 
peals to the express words of the oracle, that the parricide 
must be put out of the way. His particular desire is to be 
carried to Mount Cithaeron, that he may perish where his 
father and mother first sent him to die. In retiring from 
the government, QEdipus is followed by the sorrowing love 
and gratitude of his former almost idolizing subjects. 

The banishment of GEdipus did not, however, directly 
follow his deposition from the throne. After the violence 
of his gTief and pain had spent itself, and calm reflection 
had returned to rectify his judgment of the past, he no 
more so bitterly accused himself, but felt that his punish- 
ment was greater than his unintentional offences deserved. 
He would now have preferred to remain in Thebes, but, 
being regarded by Creon and his counsellors as a man ac- 
cursed of the gods and pernicious to the country, he was at 
length ignominiously driven from the city. His own sons 
met his entreaties with scorn and ill-treatment, and not 
only made no effort to save him, but helped to cast him out 
to become a homeless beggar. Incensed by their cruelly 
unfilial conduct, he poured out upon them the most solemn 
curses, which were afterward fulfilled. 

QEdipus was now a wandering exile, blind and indigent, 



44 INTRODUCTION. 

and, after the luxurious gratifications of royalty, little fitted 
to bear the wearisome journeys and bitter destitution 
which he had yet for many .years to endure. His eldest 
daughter, Antigone, clung to him no less resolutely than 
tenderly when he was deserted by all others ; without re- 
pining she shared his hardships and privations; her arm 
supported him and guided his steps ; her hands alone min- 
istered to his necessities.* Though in time their clothing 
decayed to rags which scarcely afforded either decent or 
comfortable protection ; though they had to walk barefooted 
through wild forests and mountains, exposed to sun and 
storm, they bore their lot alike bravely and without com- 
plaint. At last, worn and exhausted, CEdipus arrived at 
Colonos, a village in the vicinity of Athens. Unable to 
proceed, he sits down to rest upon a rock by the side of a 
wood ; but soon a citizen of the place, passing by, orders 
him off, and warns him that the grove is the dread abode 
of the Eumenides, the all-seeing daughters of Earth and 
Erebus, whose precincts it is not lawful for man to tread. 
Yet these demons of evil have no more terrors for him who 
has drunk out the dregs of his cup of suffering ; he feels, 
not without satisfaction, that his checkered career is draw- 
ing to its close, for he knows, through a previous intima- 
tion of Apollo, that his grief-worn life will end as soon 
as he shall reach the seat of the aefival deal, the august 
Erinyes. The stranger runs to inform his townsmen of 
CEdipus' violation of their sanctuary. They come to eject 
him from the country, and, especially after they have learned 
that he is the curse-hunted CEdipus, they positively insist 
upon his going. Antigone, however, joins her prayers to 
those of her father, until at length the men of Colonos 
consent to refer the matter to Theseus the king, residing 
in Athens. Ismene, CEdipus' youngest daughter, comes, 
bringing sad news from Thebes; stating that her two 
brothers, Polynices and Eteocles, had at first agreed to 

* Conip. (Ed. Col., 345 ff. 



THE MYTHUS. 45 

leave the throne to Creon, that the city might not be 
polluted by the old family taint, but that soon an insane 
frenzy for reigning had seized them both ; that Eteocles 
and his party had deposed Polynices from the throne and 
expelled him from the country, and it was commonly re- 
ported that the latter had gone to Argos to solicit aid to 
conquer Thebes. Ismene also relates that, during these 
civil convulsions, an envoy, sent to the Delphian oracle, had 
brought back a response that they had to seek for CEdipus 
dead or alive, for that in him lay their power ; and that 
Creon will soon be there to carry him home, with the base 
intention of holding him confined near the Theban frontier 
till his death, in order to make sure of the ultimate domin- 
ion promised by the oracle. CEdipus resolves that they 
shall never have him in their power again, and the timely 
arrival and gracious reception of King Theseus afford him 
the desired opportunity of asking the latter's protection 
against the designs of those who threatened to take him 
from Attica by force. Theseus readily gives his word, and 
tells him to have no fear; for which kindness CEdipus 
prophetically promises him the future predominance of 
Athens over Thebes, which had inhumanly thrust him out 
to perish. 

Theseus, having enjoined upon the villagers to stand by 
their venerable guest in case of need, takes his departure. 
Shortly afterward, as was expected, Creon arrives from 
Thebes. With honeyed words he first tries to persuade 
CEdipus to return with him ; but, failing in this, he resorts 
to threats, and at last to violence. He orders his followers 
to seize the two daughters, one after the other, and bear 
them away, so as to leave the blind old man completely 
helpless ; and, when the latter still firmly refuses, he lays 
hands on him to drag him away. CEdipus cries out for help, 
whereupon the people come to his rescue, and Theseus him- 
self, attracted by the general outcry, comes and compels 
Creon to restore the maidens, and quit the country. With a 



46 INTRODUCTION. 

similar design of securing the possession of the banished king, 
Polynices comes from Argos, to throw himself, with assumed 
humility, at his father's feet ; he represents himself as living 
in miserable exile, and implores him to relent in his anger 
and revoke his curse, which is the cause of all his misfor- 
tunes. He tries to entice CEdipus by the promise of a 
triumphant restoration to all his former dignity, and tells 
him of the powerful Argive captains who, with their troops, 
are even now investing the plain of Thebes to restore him 
to his rightful throne. They are waiting for his concur- 
rence. The only reply which CEdipus vouchsafes his rec- 
reant son is bitter reproaches for his base and 'unnatural 
conduct in expelling his own father from home, to be a 
houseless vagabond, and, in his helpless condition, but for 
his devoted daughters, to die of hunger. These things he 
cannot forgive ; on the contrary, denouncing Polynices as 
the vilest of the vile, and treating his offers with withering 
contempt, he adds to his former curses another yet more 
awful, praying that he and his brother Eteocles may fall 
by each other's hands. Antigone, with sisterly affection 
and apprehension, attempts to dissuade Polynices from this 
unholy war against his native land, but without avail. He 
takes a last farewell of his sisters, adjuring them, in the 
event of his falling, to perform the last offices for his dead 
body. 

CEdipus' presentiment of his approaching end is verified. 
A terrific storm of hail and wind, lightning and thunder, 
making the earth tremble and the people shriek and pray 
in mortal terror, is the manifest token, as he has been fore- 
warned by Apollo, that his hour has come. The last mo- 
ments of this wonderful personage (whom, in the tragical 
development of the legend, we must regard as the ideal 
fate-man) are accompanied by prodigies. Theseus having 
been hurriedly sent for, CEdipus, in return for his friendly 
hospitality, earnestly prays that he, and his land and sub- 
jects, may be blessed with perpetual success and prosperity. 



THE MYTHUS. 47 

Then, no longer needing a guide, he walks alone before 
them to the brazen steps — the threshold of Hades. There 
he and his daughters embrace each other for the last time, 
with many tears and loving farewells, when a loud peal 
of thunder is heard, followed by a voice so terrible as to 
make the hair stand with fear, calling to CEdipus and bid- 
ding him hasten his tardy steps. Then, having obtained 
from Theseus a pledge that he would befriend his daugh- 
ters, and requested these to -withdraw, he suddenly sinks 
from sight, as if the earth opened her dark bosom to give 
him a safe refuge from the storms of his evil fortune. The 
first violence of grief being over, Antigone's thoughts re- 
vert to her brothers, and, hoping that she may yet prevent 
a fatal meeting between them, she begs Theseus to send 
her and her sister home to Thebes. 

Antigone and Ismene are again in the palace of their 
fathers. Eteocles is King of Thebes, and manfully defend- 
ing its walls against Polynices and his Argive confederates. 
The latter, in seven divisions, each commanded by a dis- 
tinguished leader, are arrayed before the seven gates of the 
city. Eteocles makes a similar division of his forces, select- 
ing six of his bravest captains to oppose the six Argive 
leaders, while, at the seventh gate, he determines to meet 
his hated brother in person. The besiegers make a com- 
bined, simultaneous attack upon the gates ; some have even 
succeeded in scaling the wall with torches to fire the tow- 
ers. The Thebans, fighting with the bravery of despera- 
tion, at length beat off their assailants and pursue them 
across the plain with great slaughter. Beyond the gate, 
a short distance from the city, the hostile brothers meet 
and engage hand to hand. Inflamed with unquenchable 
hatred, each, less careful of himself, is intent upon destroy- 
ing the other, and so they fall pierced by each other's 
spears.* Their base cruelty to their father thus meets its 

* Comp. ^Esch., "Seven against Thebes," 811, 961, ff. 



48 INTRODUCTION. 

due reward, and the curses of the latter are literally ful- 
filled (Sept, contra Thebas, 831, ff.). 

Antigone and Ismene, not having been able to prevent 
the fatal meeting of their brothers, go out to the field where 
their lifeless bodies lie, to bewail their strange and untimely 
death. It belongs to them, as the next of kin, to give 
them the honors of burial ; but, while they are considering 
how they shall perform this duty, a herald from the Theban 
senate appears upon the field, to announce an order issued 
in regard to the tw T o brothers : that Eteocles, on account 
of his faithful love to his native land, his irreproachable 
piety, and his glorious death in repulsing the enemy, shall 
be honorably interred in the soil of his grateful country ; 
but that his brother Polynices shall be thrown out unburied, 
a prey for dogs, since, but for the timely interposition of 
the gods, he would have devastated the Cad mean's land ; 
that, for this impious treason to his paternal city and gods, 
he shall have an ignominious burial in the maws of birds 
and beasts as his reward, debarred from all funeral honors 
and the lamentations of friends. Against this vindictive 
order Antigone revolts ; she answers it with her solemn 
declaration that, if no one will help her bury her dead 
brother, she will do it herself, risking the danger, and not 
fearing shame from such disobedience to the will of the 
people. (See ^Esch., Sept. contra Thebas, 1005-1030.) 

This admirable passage of iEschylus, displaying the 
sublime heroism of love and duty in a feeble maiden, sug- 
gested to Sophocles, beyond doubt, the prime motive for 
his " Antigone." But, in this tragedy, which begins where 
the " Seven against Thebes " ends, and may be regarded as 
a sequel to it, the prohibition to bury the body of Polynices 
is not the decree of the Theban senate ; Sophocles repre- 
sents it as the arbitrary order of Creon, who has, in this 
imminent peril, been suddenly raised to the supreme power, 
and who thereby shocks the public sense of right, and need- 
lessly provokes the ensuing tragic conflict. 



THE MYTHUS. 49 

Our drama makes it necessary to assume that, after the 
death of the brothers, the fight continued for a time, during 
which Creon, their uncle, having been made commander-in- 
chief, ordered Eteocles to be buried with the honors befit- 
ting his rank, while the body of Polynices remained within 
the enemy's lines. Only after the flight of the Argives, 
which took place the night before the action of this play 
begins, could Creon make any disposition of the dead they 
had left behind. In the same night, then, that he returned 
from their pursuit, elated with victory, and his thirst for 
revenge still unsated, he issued the proclamation that the 
corpse of Polynices should be cast out, unburied and un- 
wept, to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey, and that 
any person violating the order should be stoned to death. 
Antigone has heard of the proclamation, and at once deter- 
mined to fulfil her duty to her beloved brother — still sa- 
credly hers — and abide the consequences. 

Prologue. — In the twilight of the following morning 
she leads her sister Ismene, the natural sharer of her griefs, 
to the open square before the royal palace upon the Cad- 
meia. First reminding her of the manifold evils they had 
been called to endure, she communicates w T ith deep indig- 
nation the revolting command of Creon, and demands to 
know if she will aid her in the execution of her plan — that 
of burying their brother. Ismene, however, is weak and 
timid, and shrinks with terror from such a bold undertaking. 
She in her turn reminds Antigone of the dreadful fate of 
their father and mother, of their two brothers' mutual 
slaughter, and of their own lonely situation, and warns 
her of the awful death which such a braving of the king's 
authority would inevitably bring upon them. They should 
recollect, she says, that they are women, and as such bound 
to submit to the rule of the stronger sex. For her own 
part, since she is constrained by force, she will obey the 
civil power, which it were folly to resist. 
3 



50 INTRODUCTION. 

None of these things, however, move the brave and 
pious Antigone. She denies Creon's right to debar her 
from her own ; she will not be found betraying her own 
brother, but will bury him ; nor would she, now that she 
knows her sister's want of proper feeling, accept her assist- 
ance if it were offered. Death incurred in the performance 
cf this holy duty will be glorious, and endear her to the 
beloved brother with whom she is to lie ; and besides, the 
interests of this brief life are of little moment in comparison 
with those of that w T orld where she must abide forever. 
Her sister's prudent timidity and respect for the civil power 
she treats as a dissembled contempt of that which, in the 
eyes of the gods, is esteemed worthy of honor. Ismene 
avers that she does not dishonor divine things, but she is 
incapable of acting contrary to the will of the state. Find- 
ing that Antigone is not to be turned from her course, she 
advises her to act in secrecy and silence ; but her affection- 
ate solicitude is answered with rudeness and contempt. 
Antigone disdains her sympathy as well as her advice, and 
desires to be permitted to suffer the punishment she thinks 
so terrible. "For," she adds, "I shall suffer nothing so 
dreadful as not to die nobly." 

Paeodos. — The sisters having left the stage, the chorus 
of elders, representing the Theban senate, enters the orches- 
tra, singing the entrance ode. They hail with joy the 
rising sun, which now pours its gladdening beams upon the 
city, delivered at last from the calamities of w^ar. They look 
back exultingly upon the dangers they have escaped, the 
burnings and slaughters vainly threatened by their insolent 
and blood-thirsty enemy. " After prowling around our seven 
gates with his murderous lances, he went off ere he had 
gorged his cheeks with our blood, and ere the pitchy flame 
had seized upon our coronal of towers." But the honor of 
victory is given to the gods ; the greater the danger has 
been, the more fervent is their gratitude to Zeus, who with 



THE MYTHUS. 51 

liis fiery thunder-bolt struck the blustering Capaneus from 
the wall, and to Ares, who, like a mighty war-horse, led on 
the Theban war-chariot to victory. Touching lightly upon 
the fate of the miserable brothers, the Chorus proposes, 
now that Victory has smiled upon Thebes, to banish these 
painful remembrances, and to visit the temples of their de- 
liverers in joyful processions. But the approach of Creon, 
their new king, from his palace, reminds them that they are 
convened to meet him on some special affair of state. 

First Episode. — Creon inaugurates his reign by an 
address to the venerable councillors of the kingdom. Duly 
acknowledging their fidelity to the preceding dynasty, to 
whose power he, as the next male heir, rightfully succeeds, 
he proceeds to lay down the principles of government by 
which he will be guided ; he will adopt the counsels which 
are most conducive to the general good of the country, un- 
biassed by fear or favor, seeing that it is only by maintain- 
ing the ship of state upright that public and private pros- 
perity can be secured. With this aim in view, and in 
accordance with these maxims, he has made a proclamation 
concerning the sons of CEdipus : ordering all due honors to 
be paid to the one who had fallen in the city's defence, and 
inflicting the extreme of infamy upon the other, who, re- 
turning from banishment, had wished to ravage his native 
land with fire and sword, and involve both gods and people 
in one common ruin. For this cause shall Polynices be 
left unburied, and given up to be eaten by dogs and birds 
of prey. 

The Chorus meekly bows to the monarch's will, and 
admits his right to make what disposition he pleases of 
friends and enemies, of the dead as well as the living. 
This ready submission on the part of the citizens is only a 
trait of the exaggerated homage still customary in the East- 
ern despotisms ; it is no evidence of their hearty approval 
of the novel edict. Creon takes them at their word, how- 



52 INTRODUCTION. 

ever, and requires their cooperation in securing the observ- 
ance of his commands. Thinking that he wants them to 
guard the body, they decline it on account of their age, and 
request him to assign the task to younger men. Creon 
corrects this impression by saying that watchmen have 
already been appointed, and that he wishes the elders not 
to countenance those w r ho may disobey. They do not 
promise even this much, which they certainly would do if 
they approved the king's measure ; they merely observe 
that "no one was fool enough to court death." The Chorus 
has not heard the prologue, and knows nothing of Anti- 
gone's purpose ; it does not occur to them that one of those 
weak orphan maidens may do it. Creon answers that " the 
hope of gain has caused the ruin of many a man," intimat- 
ing that some would run the risk for a bribe. He has evi- 
dently not the remotest idea that there might be a higher 
motive for it than those which govern w T orldly relations 
and interests. But the same moral obliquity which had 
made him overlook the wickedness of his edict, now makes 
him suspect only sordid motives in others for the transgres- 
sion of it. 

The conversation is here interrupted by the entrance of 
a watchman, who, with many circumlocutions, characteristic 
of the general class of messengers in tragedy, informs his 
master that somebody has buried the corpse of Polynices, 
and gone without leaving a trace that could afford a clew 
to his discovery. The man stands in mortal dread of the 
king's anger, and narrates the most minute circumstances 
of the affair, in order to exculpate himself and his fellow- 
watchmen, who had offered to endure the most painful tor- 
tures in proof of their innocence. 

The Chorus, having heard that the body was covered by 
some unknown hand, ventures to suggest that it was the 
work of the gods. This produces an outburst of passion 
from Creon, who is now fully convinced that the watchmen 
have been bribed to do it by his secret enemies, and de- 



THE MYTHUS. 53 

clares with an oath that they shall suffer, not only death, 
but tortures, if they do not produce the author of this in- 
sult to his authority. With this threat the enraged mon- 
arch returns to his palace, while the watchman, rejoicing 
that he has got off this time with a whole skin, contrary to 
his expectation, promises himself never to come back again. 

Second Stasimox. — The theme of this ode is suggested 
by the preceding act — the wonderful audacity and cunning 
of the unknown transgressor. The Chorus contemplates 
with amazement the might and craft of man; the being 
who subdues the sea and the land, who captures and tames 
all animals for his use, who finds out all knowledge and all 
arts, who, never failing in resources, devises a protection 
against all physical ills but death, which alone he cannot 
escape. But he uses his surprising ability, not only for 
good, but also for evil, " subverting the laws of the land and 
the sworn justice of the gods." For such daring contem- 
ners of law, human and divine, the Chorus expresses its 
abhorrence, and will have no fellowship with them. A part 
of this severe blame is plainly intended for the king, who, 
in forbidding the consecrated rites of burial to his dead rel- 
ative, has violated the divine justice (see note on v. 451). 
This song is scarcely ended before the Chorus is struck 
with amazement and sorrow at seeing the same watchman 
return, leading Antigone as a prisoner. 

Secoxd Episode. — The watchman triumphantly leads 
in the maiden as the perpetrator of the crime, and asks for 
Creon. The king appears and inquires what is the matter. 
The watchman says he has come to bring this maiden, whom 
he has caught in the very act of burying the body of Poly- 
nices. When questioned by Creon concerning the manner 
of her arrest, the man describes how he and his comrades 
had removed the dust from the body and taken their posi- 
tion to watch it ; how in the heat of the day a violent wind 



54: INTRODUCTION. 

had suddenly risen, filling the air with dust, and forcing them 
to shut their eyes ; then, after the storm had subsided, they 
had seen the maiden casting dust again upon the corpse 
and pouring the customary libations for the dead, where- 
upon they had seized her, and, as she had not attempted to 
deny the facts, he had brought her to the king for trial. 

Creon demands of Antigone if she has done it, and, 
further, if she knew his proclamation forbidding it. She 
acknowledges both. The king asks her how she has 
dared, then, to transgress the law. Antigone justifies her 
act by asserting the paramount force of those laws estab- 
lished by the gods for the government of the world. She 
did not consider his proclamations so mighty as to super- 
sede the unwritten and unchangeable laws of the gods, 
which were not of to-day or yesterday, but existed from 
time immemorial. She would not, from fear of any man, 
suffer the penalty of neglecting them in another world. 
She knew she must die, even without his warning, and to 
one who, like herself, lived in manifold afflictions, an early 
death was gain. The pain of this lot was nothing in com- 
parison to the grief of suffering her own mother's son to lie 
unburied. " But," she proudly adds, " if I seem to you 
to have acted foolishly, I am taxed with folly by one almost 
a fool." 

The Chorus observes that the obdurate temper of the 
father is revealed in that of the child, who knows not how 
to yield to misfortune. 

Creon sees in her bearing and language nothing but im- 
pudence and defiance. Swelling with rage, and confident 
of his power to crush the helpless woman who has dared to 
oppose his will, he declares that if her spirit is too hard to 
bend it must break ; that she, not he, would be a man if 
this double insult were to pass unpunished ; that were she 
ever so nearly related to him, both she and her sister shall 
not escape the worst death. For he charges Ismene also 
with complicity in the burial ; the violent agitation he has 



THE MYTHUS. 55 

lately observed in her is evidence of a guilty conscience ; 
wherefore, he commands her to be brought before him. 
What he loathes, however, is for a person to be caught in 
a crime, and then to seek to make it glorious. 

Antigone calmly asks if he wants any thing more than 
her death. " No," says the tyrant ; " having that I have 
all." She tells him to kill her at once, then, as their views 
can never be reconciled; she can obtain no nobler fame 
than by burying her own dear brother, and she believes 
that all her fellow-citizens would approve it if fear did not 
shut their mouths. " But tyranny," she says, " has this 
advantage, among others, that it can say and do whatever 
it pleases." 

In the sharp altercation that follows, the antagonism 
between Creon and Antigone is exhibited with increasing 
force ; the latter appealing to the rights of the dead sanc- 
tioned by Nature and religion, the former condemning her 
for honoring the open enemy of the state. Antigone appears 
as the affectionate sister, who sees in Polynices only the 
fallen brother ; Creon, the callous politician, regards him 
only as a traitor, and as such deserving to be pursued with 
irreconcilable hatred even in death. Antigone will say 
nothing of his political offences, but maintains that death 
demands equal rights, and utters the truly feminine and 
noble sentiment, that she is born, not to hate with those 
that hate, but to love with those that love. " Go, then," 
cries the enraged monarch, " and, if you must love, love the 
dead below, for while I live a woman shall not rule." 

Ismene is now led in, convulsed with weeping. Creon 
addresses her in a brutal tone, calling her an adder that had 
stealthily crept upon him in his house and sucked his blood, 
and demanding to know whether she was an accomplice in 
the burial. The young girl, who was before too timid to 
join her sister in the performance of a sacred duty, has now 
the courage and strength to wish to die with her. She de- 
clares that she has done the deed and shares the guilt, if An- 



56 INTRODUCTION. 

tigone consents. Antigone replies that justice will not per- 
mit this, as she had not been willing to act with her. Is- 
mene tenderly begs to be permitted to share her fate. Anti- 
gone coldly refuses : she does not love a friend who is so 
merely in professions ;^she shall not die with her, nor claim 
the merits of an act not her own ; she had chosen to live, but 
she herself to die. Be it so ; she does not envy her escape. 
Ismene, finding her entreaties of no avail, at length turns to 
Creon, who, wholly incapable of comprehending the sisters, 
thinks them both deranged. She tries to touch a chord in 
the king's heart by asking if he will put to death the 
betrothed of his own son. As Antigone had scorned to 
make any attempt to soften Creon, this family tie had 
hitherto been disregarded. But her question provokes a 
coarse retort from Creon, who adds that he wants no bad 
women for his sons. Antigone cannot help exclaiming, 
" O dearest Hsemon, how thy father disgraces thee ! " — 
" You vex me too much," says the king, " you and your 
marriage, which death shall break off." Creon then signifies 
his determination that Antigone shall die, and orders both 
the maidens to be led into the house, and guarded. 

Second Stasimon. — In the unexpected arrest of Anti- 
gone, her proud language, and final condemnation, the Cho- 
rus sees a continuation of the family malediction, and breaks 
forth into a mournful yet sublime song, in which it contem- 
plates the origin and baneful workings of the ar7/, i. e., 
guilt, that first produces delusion and is afterward expiated 
by calamity. "When this demon of mischief has once seized 
upon a family she never quits it, but springs up anew in 
each suceeding generation, and ends only with the utter 
extinction of the race. So the unfortunate legacy of blind- 
ing passion, entailed by the son of Labclacus upon his pos- 
terity, has lopped one scion after another, until now the last 
of the children of GEdipus is cut down through unthinking 
folly and infatuation of mind. Suddenly changing its tone, 



THE MYTHUS. 57 

the Chorus celebrates the ever-enduring might of the ruler 
of bright Olympus, whose eternal law is felt by the inevita- 
ble retribution which overtakes the transgressor. The pro- 
lific source of mischief is the indulgence of light-minded, 
ambitious desires, which warp the judgment, making evil 
appear good and enticing to guilty acts ; soon, then, follows 
the arr\. As the first part of the song is suggested by the 
downfall of Antigone, so the remaining portion refers to 
the wicked presumption of Creon, whose approaching pun- 
ishment is, in the mirror of the past, dimly foreseen. This 
time the poet retains the king upon the stage, that his aged 
councillors may utter a solemn warning in his ears. 

Third Episode. — Hsemon, the king's only surviving 
son, appears. Creon inquires whether he comes in anger at 
hearing the final condemnation of his intended bride. Har- 
mon's reply is couched in language of filial respect, inti- 
mating that he values his father's wise guidance above any 
marriage. Creon is pleased with such proper sentiments : 
he says the obedience of children is the source of the 
highest gratification to a father, while their insubordina- 
tion is a plague to him, and a cause of laughter to his 
enemies. He exhorts his son not to give up his reason 
for the sake of a bad wife, who can only prove a grievous 
ulcer to his happiness. He justifies his course in regard 
to Antigone by narrow reasonings, laying it down as an 
axiom that a man of justice must begin with keeping his 
own household in order; otherwise, he cannot make his 
authority respected in the state, the consequence of which 
would be general anarchy and ruin. He paints insubor- 
dination as the prolific mother of evils, contrasts with it the 
blessings that spring from obedience, and concludes with 
the necessity of supporting the legitimate authority, whether 
right or wrong. In his closing remark, that it is most dis- 
graceful to succumb to a woman, he betrays his secret bit- 
terness, and shows us that his severity is dictated no less by 
personal resentment than by his sense of justice. 



58 INTRODUCTION. 

Harmon is not satisfied. With due respect for his fa- 
ther's opinions, which he will not undertake to confute, he 
suggests that a just view might also be taken on the other 
side. He reminds Creon that his position as king prevents 
him from learning the real sentiments of his subjects, who 
are restrained by fear from telling unpleasant truths ; but 
that he, by mingling with the people, has heard how they 
complained in secret of Antigone's unmerited punishment, 
lamenting that she, for the most pious and praiseworthy 
action, must suffer a most cruel death. Hsemon hopes 
more from representing to his father the state of public 
opinion than from a direct defence of his beloved, which 
would be attributed to a selfish motive. He assures him 
that nothing is more precious to him than his father's pros- 
perity ; for his interest, therefore, he implores him not to 
hold fast to the one idea that he alone is in the right, and no 
one but himself is wise, but to recede from his resolution 
and relent, lest by too great a tenacity he may work his own 
destruction. 

The Chorus judges that both have well spoken, and that 
each may properly learn of the other. This is sufficient to 
explode the king's gathering wrath. What ! shall he at his 
age be taught wisdom by such a stripling ? " Nothing that 
is not just," Haemon replies ; " you should not look at my 
age, but the business in hand." Creon asks indignantly 
if it is his business to honor the transgressors of the laws. 
Shall the city dictate to him what he must ordain ? The 
state belongs to the ruler, he thinks, and he is entitled to 
govern it for his own benefit, and according to his own 
pleasure. Haemon answers in a tone of calm good sense, 
till Creon's taunts and reproaches exhaust his forbearance ; 
then he charges his father with injustice and impiety, and 
at length plainly hints that he has lost his reason, where- 
upon the king, losing all self-control, gives orders for Anti- 
gone to be brought in and slain before her lover's eyes. 
Hsemon exclaims : " No, never shall she die by my side, 



THE MYTHUS. 59 

nor shall you ever behold me again," and rushes in despair 
from his father's presence. Wrought up to frenzy by this 
stormy colloquy, the tyrant devises an unheard-of cruelty : 
he determines to bury Antigone alive in the vault of her 
ancestors, with just food enough to ward off pollution from 
the city. Finally, as if to stifle the murmurings of con- 
science, he indulges in a bitter sneer at the unhappy maiden 
and her vain veneration of the gods below. 

Third Stasdiost. — Deeply impressed by the angry strife 
between father and son, and particularly by the circum- 
stance that their estrangement has been produced by Har- 
mon's love to Antigone, the Chorus sings the all-conquering 
power of Eros (love). Over all the world that power is felt ; 
neither the immortal gods nor ephemeral men can escape 
his infatuating influence. He warps the minds of the just 
to wrong, and in a conflict of duties he maintains his place 
among the great principles and laws of human action, In 
seeing Antigone now led out on her way to her sepulchral 
bride-chamber, the Chorus yields to undue emotion, and 
sheds tears of pity over her sad fate. 

Fourth Episode. — This act is composed chiefly in the 
lyrical form, as best adapted for the expression of high- 
wrought feelings. Antigone does not resign life with in- 
difference; she casts a longing, lingering look upon the 
bright world she is leaving, and laments in pathetic strains 
the necessity of renouncing the felicities of an earthly mar- 
riage for the cold embrace of the grave. The haughty 
spirit that lately contemned and braved the civil power, 
now quails before the horrors of a living burial. The 
Chorus, recognizing the nobleness of her conduct, seeks to 
console her with the unique fame she acquires by volun- 
tarily descending alive into Hades. "When she, however, 
compares her lot to that of Niobe, encased in stone, she is 
rebuked for her presumption in likening herself to a god- 



60 INTRODUCTION. 

dess ; still it is a great glory to share a godlike fate. This 
seems an empty mockery to Antigone, who, in accents of 
despair, calls the city and its inhabitants, the groves and 
streams, to witness what an iniquitous sentence she is going 
to suffer. The Chorus reminds her of the grave offence she 
has committed : she has, with reckless audacity, assailed 
the high throne of justice ; she is fighting out, however, the 
ancestral combat with Fate. This last observation reminds 
her of the sad calamities which had befallen her whole race, 
and of that long chain of fatal circumstances which is the 
occasion of her own destruction. The. Chorus, perceiving 
that Antigone attributes too much to the evil destiny of her 
house, plainly tells her that, though the honoring of the 
dead is a pious action, yet that the violation of the rightful 
authority is wholly unjustifiable. Not Fate, therefore, but 
her own headstrong passion, has destroyed her. These 
words are significant as expressing the judgment of the 
people, and of the poet himself, concerning the merits and 
tendency of Antigone's action. The heroine, feeling that 
her magnanimity is not appreciated by the elders, does not 
vouchsafe them another word, but complains that she is led 
away unwept and forsaken by all her friends. 

Creon becomes impatient at the delay, and sternly com- 
mands the guards to carry her away at once and confine her 
in the vaulted tomb. As she turns to go, she expresses the 
confident hope that she will descend to the abode of the 
dead, dear to her parents and her brother Eteocles, since 
she has duly rendered them the last services of burial. But 
now, for a like service to Polynices, she reaps this reward. 
Yet she has honored him for the judgment of the wise and 
just : in Creon's eyes she has committed an enormity. Her 
dutiful action is distorted into a crime. If this judgment is 
approved by the gods, she will after death see and confess 
her error ; but if these her adversaries are in the wrong, 
she wishes they may suffer no greater evils than they ini- 
quitously inflict upon her. Finally, as she is dragged 



THE MYTHUS. 61 

away to death, she solemnly calls men and gods to witness 
that she suffers for conscience' sake. While she is leaving 
the stage, the Chorus sings. 

Fourth Stasimox. — Citing several examples from my- 
thology of persons similarly confined, the poet's pervading 
thought is, that all must succumb to the power of Fate, 
whether innocent, as Danae, Cleopatra and her blinded 
sons, or guilty, as Lycurgus, who, for his wanton insults to 
Bacchus, was shut up by him in a rocky prison, and left to 
vent his impotent rage. The example of his offence and 
punishment may have been selected as a warning to Creon, 
who has now filled up the measure of his wickedness. 

Fifth Episode. — Teiresias, the venerable priest of the 
gods, comes to try the power of religion upon Creon's 
hardened heart. He describes the ill-boding signs which 
he has observed in augury and sacrifice ; he announces that 
all the altars are contaminated by the putrid food brought 
by birds and dogs from the carcass of Polynices ; that the 
gods no longer accept either prayers or offerings, and that 
the city sickens in consequence of the king's edict. The 
seer urges him to reflect upon these grave circumstances, 
to give up his error, and cease persecuting the dead. 
" What prowess," he exclaims, " to slay a dead man over 
again ! " But these friendly admonitions and counsels 
are lost upon the king. He looks upon all he has heard as 
jugglery and priestcraft, whose tricks have been practised 
upon him already. But he is no longer to be imposed 
upon ; he charges Teiresias with mercenary motives, and 
playing upon his credulity. He does not even shrink from 
blasphemy, declaring that the body shall not be interred 
even though Jove's eagles should bear it as their food into 
their master's throne, and affecting to believe the gods too 
elevated to be profaned by man. 

Provoked by Creon's repeated insults and scoffs, Teire- 



G2 INTRODUCTION. 

sias solemnly predicts the retribution that awaits him.* For 
daring to thrust down to the grave a living soul, and to 
retain above-ground an unsanctified corpse, he shall give up 
his own child, the dead for the dead, and be involved in 
like evils. Soon will his house be filled with lamentations, 
and the surrounding towns, whose altars are polluted by 
the impure stench brought by birds and beasts, be all stirred 
up to hostility. After these denunciations he sharply re- 
proves Creon for his disrespect to himself, and abruptly 
leaves him, with the advice to keep a more respectful tongue 
and a better temper. The king stands amazed. The pain- 
ful silence is broken by the leader of the Chorus, who calls 
Creon' s attention to the terrible prophecies of the seer, and 
to the fact that he had never been heard to predict a false- 
hood. Creon admits it, and confesses his apprehensions ; 
it is painful, he says, to yield, but still more so to draw a 
calamity upon himself by resisting. What is to be done ? 
The Chorus advises him to go first and free Antigone from 
the vault, and then to bury the exposed corpse. When 
Creon still hesitates, the Chorus urges the utmost haste, 
lest he may be overtaken by the swift-footed ministers of 
divine vengeance. Creon at length yields, but against his 
will, and only to necessity. In his confusion he orders his 
servants to attend to the burial first ; he himself will re- 
lease the maiden. His views are changed, and he fears it 
may be best always to preserve the established laws. 

The Fifth Stasimox is a hymn to Bacchus, the special 
patron of Thebes. The Chorus, hoping it may not yet be 
too late to avert the impending evils, magnifies tKe glory 
of the god, and fervently implores him to appear and save 
his beloved city. 

Exodus. — A messenger, an attendant of Creon, appears 
for the purpose of announcing the sudden and grievous 
misfortune which has befallen his master. " Haemon has 



THE MYTHUS. 63 

perished by his own hands, but the living are the cause of 
his death." "While he is yet speaking, Eurydice, the wife 
of Creon, is seen at the door of the palace, going forth to 
the temple of Pallas to pray. She has caught some of the 
messenger's words, and desires to know the whole truth. 
The messenger narrates what he had witnessed : he had 
accompanied her husband to the place where the body of 
Polynices lay; his remains having been burned and buried 
with customary rites, they had gone toward the vault 
where the maiden had been immured, but on approaching 
the spot their ears had been pierced by a cry of distress. 
Creon recognized it as the voice of his son. When they 
came to the tomb they saw Antigone hanging by the neck, 
and Hgemon clasping her body, while he loudly lamented 
his father's acts and her untimely fate. Creon now entered 
and entreated him to come out ; but Hcemon, with a look 
of anger and disgust, drew his sword upon his father, who 
by a sudden retreat escaped the blow. Then the unfor- 
tunate youth, angry at himself, plunged the weapon into 
his side, and breathed out his life with his blood, still em- 
bracing the maiden, to whom he is at length united in the 
grave. 

Eurydice returns to the palace without uttering a word. 
This silence seems ominous of evil, and the messenger fol- 
lows her, to see whether she is not meditating some dark 
purpose. Meanwhile. Creon arrives with his attendants, 
bearing the lifeless Hasmon. Bitterly does he now reproach 
himself with his obstinate wrong-headedness, and lament 
the early death of his son, caused by his folly. Some 
demon, he thinks, has smitten him on the head and impelled 
him into wild and cruel courses. While he thus bewails 
his errors, a domestic comes to announce another calamity : 
his wife, Eurydice, has put an end to her life. The king 
is crushed to the earth by this second blow; he cannot 
realize it until (by means of a stage-machine) the unhappy 
mother is exposed to his view. The cup of affliction seems 



64 INTRODUCTION. 

now drained to the bottom ; not yet ! the bitter dregs re- 
main. The unsparing messenger tells him how, with her 
expiring breath, she had lamented the fate of her two sons, 
and finally uttered fearful maledictions upon him — the 
murderer of her children. Remorse and terror drive him 
to the verge of distraction ; he calls for some one to plunge 
a sword through his heart ; he feels that the guilt is all his 
own, and implores death to relieve him from his intolerable 
anguish. Admonished by the Chorus that now is no time 
for prayer, since it would bring no escape from fated calam- 
ity, he piteously begs to be carried away from the sight of 
those he had unwillingly slain. As he is led away, the poet 
permits us to see that his mind wanders : the loss of reason 
is the finishing stroke of woe. 

In the pithy reflections which close the drama, the Cho- 
rus enunciates the moral lessons that have been so strikingly 
exemplified in the action : wisdom is the chief requisite for 
happiness ; no one should impiously set at naught the divine 
ordinances ; overweening pride draws upon itself a heavy 
retribution, which teaches moderation when it is too late. 

These are the conclusions to which the poet would lead 
the intelligent and impartial spectator in witnessing the 
action of the "Antigone." They express, in fact, the 
fundamental thought, underlying every part of the drama ; 
shaping each tragic character and situation, and binding 
them together into an harmonious whole. This main idea 
is exhibited in the collision of two leading characters, who 
defend opposite interests with unyielding obstinacy. One 
is the champion of man's moral and religious rights, 
grounded in our common humanity and sanctioned by 
universal usage ; the other is the assertor of the " principle 
of authority," as it is understood in semi- Asiatic monarch- 
ies. It is no part of the author's design to show that these 
two principles are in themselves antagonistic ; but to show 
that, when the religious and the civil rights are maintained 
by short-sighted, fallible beings, and by them dragged down 



THE MYTHUS. 65^ 

into the wild and stormy arena of human passion, they 
tend to assume an attitude of irreconcilable hostility, and 
lead to a fatal issue. 

In the instance here chosen, an unlimited civil power 
becomes suddenly and unexpectedly vested in a selfish, 
narrow-minded, obstinate man, who sets out with the con- 
viction that sovereignty confers complete wisdom and an 
unerring judgment — with the belief, in short, that the 
king can do no wrong, Elated by his new dignity, and 
blinded by resentment toward a fallen foe, Creon tran- 
scends the province of the civil authority, and, while 
setting at naught the religious usages of his country, en- 
croaches upon the private family rights of Antigone. She, 
on the other hand, though inspired by the purest senti- 
ments, and endowed with the most elevated virtues that 
natural religion can produce, is yet the high-tempered child 
of a high-tempered father ; her proud spirit revolts at 
Creon's high-handed wrong, and she takes her redress into 
her own hands. An uncompromising hatred is engendered 
between the parties, and thus an apparent conflict of princi- 
ples degenerates into a contest of passions. The action is, 
therefore, justly calculated to inculcate that moderation 
which becomes us men in all things, and to teach what piti- 
able sufferings may fall to the lot of one who passionately 
and obstinately follows his own path, regardless of the rights 
and interests of those who stand in his way. Antigone 
and Creon are both, though not alike, guilty. Antigone, 
by setting her private rights above the supreme civil 
authority, strikes at the existence of the government, and 
her life must be the forfeit. But, according to Grecian 
notions, the matter could not end here. Hence, Creon, 
who at first has arrogantly contemned the divine laws, 
and trampled upon the holiest family rights, who has after- 
ward executed the victim of his injustice in an inhuman 
manner, is reserved for woes from which death itself were 
a welcome refuge. As he has sinned against the sacred 



66 INTRODUCTION. 

family rights, in like manner now blow upon blow strikes 
down his own family around him. Also in his late recogni- 
tion of justice, his remorse and despair, the divine laws 
receive an ample vindication. 

" No drama of antiquity," says Bernhardy, " can be 
compared with the Antigone in the harmony and perfect 
balance of all its powers. Its excellences lie in the beauti- 
ful symmetry of its plot, its characters, and its form, and 
finally of the fundamental thought that runs through these 
materials and organizes them to a faultless whole, which 
at the present day may pass for the canon of antique 
tragedy." The plot is constructed with admirable sim- 
plicity : its course is developed directly from the opposition 
announced at the outset, and advances steadily through a 
series of struggles toward its goal with such undeviating 
persistence, that the long chain of events and resolutions 
appears as the natural and necessary effect of a single 
cause. Each scene is closely linked with another, suc- 
cessively bringing the controversy nearer to its decision ; 
each scene rises to its own acme of pathos while serving 
as a step to a higher, until the opposing forces are broken 
by a final shock, and the fierce gusts of passion die away 
in the moanings of despair. 

If we now turn our attention more particularly to the 
characters, we shall find them adapted, by their elevation 
and their diversity, to sustain a part in such a plan. If the 
plot is, as before observed, a free expansion of the ancient 
mythos, and wholly due to the creative genius of Sophocles, 
so the characters, especially those of the chief persons, An- 
tigone and Creon, are modelled to be, at the same time, the 
worthy representatives of the two great principles that con- 
stitute the basis of human society — religion and govern- 
ment — and of the faults and errors to w r hich an exaggerated 
view of these naturally tends. 

In the works of the greatest poets there breathes often 
the spirit of another art. In the drama particularly we 



THE MYTHTJS. 67 

perceive a striving to realize upon the scenic platform the 
pictorial groupings of the painter or the sculptor. This is 
perhaps nowhere more evident than in the "Antigone." 
The characters rise by well-defined gradations from the 
level of common men, animated by vulgar motives, to an 
ideal standard of humanity, in which the earthly dross 
appears refined by suffering, and the spiritual predominates 
over the material. 

As the highest expression of moral greatness, Sopho- 
cles has chosen a poor, weak woman, a child of sorrow, 
whom a cruel destiny has bereft of all her natural pro- 
tectors, and of all the worldly advantages which, as the 
daughter of a great king, she had once, in their fullest 
extent, enjoyed. In her proud, unbending disposition 
she is her father's child — rude and severe to all who are 
not equally high-minded, and do not act with the same 
decision as herself ; and she is the more sensitive and vul- 
nerable, the more painful and humiliating had been the 
trials through which she had been made to pass. Self- 
abnegation, at first a necessity, has by years of suffering 
become a habit and a principle. By her sad experience of 
the vanity of this world, she has been led to rest her only 
hopes of happiness upon the next ; hence her ardent and 
inflexible devotion to what she conceives to be her holiest 
duty, and her dread of proving recreant to it ; hence her 
reverence for the claims of religion and eternal justice, 
approved and sanctioned by the Hellenic race from imme- 
morial time; hence also, when Creon's impious command 
imposes on her the necessity of choosing between civil 
punishment and the anger of the gods, and of a brother 
shut out of Hades, she does • not hesitate to follow the 
course dictated by her conscience, and approved, she doubts 
not, by all just men (v. 904). In the presence of her 
angry judge she fearlessly asserts the principle, long after- 
ward proclaimed and acted upon by the Christian apostles, 
that she " ought to obey God rather than men." Such is 



68 INTRODUCTION. 

the spirit, if I mistake not, and such the motives that 
animate Antigone in this decisive moment of her life ; 
judged from her own point of view, she is the type of con- 
science — in the ancient Grecian sense. 

Antigone appears at first hard and stiff, with that 
abstract fixedness which marks the ethical characters of 
ancient tragedy. This arises from her peculiar exaltation 
of soul, justified by Creon's proclamation, and demanded 
for the performance of an action whose consequence is a 
certain ard terrible death. Sophocles wished to represent 
her as great and self-reliant, rather than as an ideal of 
female loveliness. She even spurns the dependent spirit 
of her sex in the person of her gentle sister, and renounces 
both it and her. She is weaned from the world : to use 
her own thought, she is already dead to the claims of this 
life, so that she may serve her dead brother, by securing to 
his shade a peaceful rest below. She is Haemon's be- 
trothed ; yet so wrapped up is she in her duty and affection 
to the unhappy dead, that all thought of love is banished 
from her mind. But when that sacred obligation is fulfilled, 
and she is bidding farewell to life, her pathetic regrets at 
failing in her proper mission as a wife and mother reveal 
the tenderness of her woman's nature. Under the stroke 
of misfortune the exalted ideal becomes more concrete, 
more human, and awakens, by the greatness of her anguish, 
the deepest sympathy of the spectator. For a moment she 
is assailed by doubts and apprehensions that even the gods 
in whom she puts her trust have forsaken her ; but hope 
finally prevails, and she goes to her fate in the firm belief 
that the justice of her cause will be recognized in the next 
world, if not in this. That the poet makes her end her life 
by suicide, is to be judged of according to the Greek re- 
ligion and the ancient manner of thinking, rather than our 
own. Regarded from the Christian stand-point, Antigone 
would have loaded herself with a far deeper guilt than that 
of breaking a mere human statute; in the Grecian view, 



THE MYTHUS. 69 

while she releases herself from protracted misery, she con- 
verts what the tyrant intends as an ignominious punish- 
ment into a triumph of that divine law which she has 
served, by voluntarily dying for it. This was wanting to 
complete her self-sacrifice, and perhaps it is not too much 
to say that she dies a martyr to her faith. 

The next most tragic person in the drama is Creon. 
He is the type of worldly majesty and unlimited kingly 
power, whose command requires unconditional obedience 
from all the members of the state. He does not seem to 
have been naturally tyrannical, or to have brought to his 
high office any unusual share of human depravity, except 
perhaps that deadening of the moral feelings which the 
long habit of political strife tends to produce. He had 
formerly supported the claims of Eteocles to the throne 
of his father GEdipus, and from his position, as first adviser 
of that prince, he had doubtless aided in procuring the 
banishment of Polynices. Toward the latter, it may be 
presumed, he had entertained a deep-seated animosity, 
which was greatly enhanced by Polynices' recent treason 
in heading a hostile invasion of his native land. Having 
been suddenly raised by the death of the brothers to the 
supreme power, he thinks only of establishing his authority 
by at once crushing all disaffection. For this, an example 
of extreme severity is needed. In the same night in which 
the Argives had fled, with unseemly haste, and taking coun- 
sel of none, he issues a proclamation, denouncing Polynices 
as an enemy of the state, and forbidding to bury him. He 
adopts this measure, as it appears, inconsiderately, and with 
no intention to violate the family rights of Antigone and 
Ismene ; he overlooks them entirely. In a question of 
state policy, the opinions and feelings of women could 
have no weight with him. His ostensible object is the 
welfare of the state, which, he says, outweighs every other 
consideration ; but as he conceives the state to be the prop- 
erty of the ruler, who is to govern for his own benefit, it is 



70 INTRODUCTION. 

not difficult to see that his real aim is to strengthen his 
own power rather than to secure the happiness of his sub- 
jects. Hence, when his law is violated, he deems the act 
an insult to himself, and immediately suspects his political 
opponents to have been at the bottom of it. He suspects 
secret foes in all who approach him : Antigone and her 
sister are the subverters of his throne ; his son is the ally 
and slave of the woman who has dared to thwart his will ; 
the aged priest, to whose aid he is indebted for his king- 
dom, is the hired tool sent to scare him from his purposes. 
The maxims of government, by which he seeks to justify 
his acts, are in themselves right, and he carries them out 
fearlessly and w r ith an iron logic. The error lies in using 
them to defend a measure utterly at war with the religious 
traditions of his country — a violation of a right w x hich lies 
beyond the jurisdiction of an earthly king. Creon, though 
not a professed atheist, is a practical unbeliever in divine 
things ; and hence, when the divine laws stand in the way 
of his will, he ignores or scoffs at them. Only the threat- 
enings of impending wrath can trouble his fancied security; 
and, even when he is convinced of his error, it is a painful 
struggle for him to abandon it and do what is right. He 
yields not to conviction, but to sheer necessity. 

Creon is excessively proud, arrogant, choleric, suspi- 
cious, cruel, impious ; not a trace of kindly feeling is there 
to temper his sternness and engage our sympathy. If we 
pity him in his unmitigated misery, it is with that pity 
w r ith which we regard a criminal who suffers the just pen- 
alty of his revolting crimes. 

Two quite opposite estimates have been formed by 
scholars of the character of Creon : one, that he is from the 
outset an unqualified aud odious tyrant, by the exhibition 
of whose arbitrary acts the poet intended to confirm the 
prejudices of his countrymen against absolutism; the 
other, that he is the type of heroism in a king, whose 
highest and all-absorbing thought is the state, to which all 



THE MYTHUS. 71 

other interests must succumb ; whose severity proceeds 
from an honest conviction of right — a strict sense of justice 
that spares not even the nearest kindred when these are 
found violating the laws ; that his intentions are good, and 
that his faults are only the consequence of a blinded under- 
standing. This is to judge either from Antigone's point of 
view or from Creon's. Both of them, however, are one-sid- 
ed, special pleaders. The truth lies undoubtedly between, 
but not midway between, the two : it lies nearer to Antig- 
one, whose faults lean to the side of humanity and virtue. 
That is the stand-point assumed by the poet himself, and 
which he assigns to the Chorus, who reproves both, but 
Creon more. The former is sustained and consoled by the 
consciousness of having done her duty, while the latter is 
left without a shadow of right or a ray of hope. On the 
first day of his new power his whole domestic happiness 
is crushed, and he is tortured by remorse until his reason 
totters under his load of misery. 

Lower in the tragic scale stand Ismene and Hsemon. 
Ismene is gentle and affectionate, but weak and timid. 
She, like her sister, feels and acknowledges the sacred 
claims of piety to the dead and to the gods, but she cannot 
summon the courage to step out of her womanly sphere 
and brave the anger of the ruler. Still, she looks up with 
admiration to her high-souled sister, and, when the latter is 
overtaken by misfortune, she forgets her harshness, forgets 
her own weakness, and lovingly begs to be the compan- 
ion of her suffering. Her shrinking, yet in itself noble, 
womanly character affords a standard for measuring the 
sublime heroism of Antigone. This purpose being served, 
she is dismissed by the poet without further notice. 

Harmon's character is skilfully drawn for developing 
the main thought of the drama, and, by the contrast of a 
calm, reflecting, and well-balanced mind, placing his father's 
passionateness in a stronger light. We see in him the 
image of filial respect, in which devotion to his father's 



72 INTRODUCTION. 

interests is tempered by a high sense of justice, and by 
independent, liberal views of state policy. He is the per- 
sonification of that good sense and moderation which he 
pleads for, and which is wanting in Creon ; hence little or 
no room is left for tragic feeling. With all his excellence, 
he does not reach to the height of his betrothed. If he 
perishes, he does so less in consequence of any guilt of his 
own, or even of his love for Antigone, than as a victim and 
at the same time a chastisement of Creon's guilt. 

Teiresias, the venerable priest and seer, appears like a 
being of another world. Old and blind, afflicted and help- 
less, his intercourse is much less with mortals than with the 
gods whom he serves. His vision is dimmed, that he may 
the more clearly perceive the divine purposes. His body is 
decrepit with age, but his mind is endued with supernatural 
vigor and intelligence. He is cold and crabbed, and quick 
to resent an insult to the religion which he represents. 
All other means having failed to move the king from the 
fiendish purpose w r hich he has finally accomplished by wall- 
ing up Antigone alive, the prophet comes to announce to 
him the anger of the gods, and to warn him to desist. Pro- 
voked beyond endurance by Creon's scoffs and impiety, he 
at length unwillingly yet sternly predicts the inevitable and 
speedy ajDproach of the divine vengeance. 

The watchman who reports the important part of the 
action that lies beyond the scene is a long-winded, cap- 
tious, saucy fellow of the lower class, and hence of common, 
servile views. He is the base instrument of the monarch's 
power ; he chuckles over his success in detecting Antigone 
in the very act, since by that means he escapes the merci- 
less tortures which his master had threatened. His single 
expression of sorrow at bringing the maiden to punishment 
is the only trait that redeems his character from utter 
selfishness. Of still less dramatic significance are the 
messenger and house-servant, whose apathy for the afflic- 
tions of the royal house places them lowermost in the scale. 



THE MYTHUS. 73 

They stand but little above the company of supernumera- 
ries that compose the king's retinue. 

In Euryclice we see an innocent victim of Greon's do- 
mestic tyranny; her death serves merely to aggravate his 
punishment. 

The Chorus is an ideal company of spectators vrithin 
the piece itself. Its office is to express the reflections 
which the action is calculated to excite. It is com- 
posed of hoary -headed men, representing the nobility of 
Thebes. TTe see in them the subjects of an hereditary 
despotism, who. through three reigns, have proved them- 
selves faithful and obedient to their rulers, and quiet under 
the yoke. They have no idea of acting otherwise toward 
the new king ; on the contrary, when he communicates to 
them his proclamation, they humbly acquiesce without 
questioning his right to dispose of everybody, whether 
living or dead. This they do from education and force of 
habit, as the Orientals of the present day prostrate them- 
selves before their sovereigns in token of submission. But 
neither in this, nor in their replies afterward, is there a 
word to show that they approve the law itself, or that they 
are willing to take any part in its execution. From the 
same principle of deference to the supreme power, they con- 
demn the act of Antigone as an audacious crime, so far as it 
is a transgression of the rightful authority of the state, 
while they praise her self-sacrifice and commend her piety. 
Whether the measure, which is the cause of the conflict 
between her and Crecm. is morally right, or is demanded by 
the interest of the state, they do not presume to decide. 
This question lies not in their province, and they await the 
judgment of a higher power. TThen, however, the divine 
disapprobation has been emphatically uttered by the mouth 
of the venerated priest, their indecision vanishes, and they 
take a bold stand against Creon. The conduct of the 
Chorus, regarded in this light, is by no means so servile 
and vacillating as it is generally judged to be. A fair and 
4 



74 INTRODUCTION. 

intelligent judgment concerning this, as well as all the other 
points of the drama, can only be obtained by transferring 
ourselves into the midst of ancient Grecian life. The 
choral songs, which contemplate each step of the action 
from an elevated and general point of view, are rich in 
grand thoughts and beautiful images, and brilliant by a 
masterly harmony of language. The pure wisdom of the 
poet himself speaks in them. Here he emancipates himself 
from the trammels of prejudice ; with bold freedom he 
glances over the summits of human affairs, measures life 
and its concerns, looks before and after, and deduces those 
universal truths and precepts which are most useful for 
the instruction of his fellow-men. He sings the might, 
the daring, and the delusions of mankind; he adores the 
heavenly power that with severe chastisements intervenes 
in human affairs ; and finally, in view of the manifold evils 
produced by ungoverned passions, whose baneful influences 
extend to succeeding generations, he presses home the 
lesson that sober-mindedness, with reverence to the Deity, 
is the surest safeguard of happiness. It is not improbable 
that Milton had in mind this most perfect drama of an- 
tiquity, when he wrote those striking lines in his " Paradise 
Regained : " 

" Thence what the lofty grave tragedians taught 
In chorus or iambic, teachers best 
Of moral prudence, with delight received 
In brief sententious precepts, while they treat 
Of fate, and chance, and change in human life, 
High actions, and high passions best describing." 



30$0KAE0T2 

ANTITONH. 



TA TOT APAMAT02 nPOZMIA. 



ANTirONH. 

I2MHNH. 

XOP02 ©HBAIHN TEPONTHN. 

KPE&N. 

STAAH. 

AIMHN. 

TEIPE2IA5. 

AITEA02. 

EYPTAIKH. 

EEAITEA02. 

Protagonist : Antigone, Teiresias, Angelos, and Exangelos. 

Deuteragonist : Creon. 

Tritagonist : Ismene, Phylax, Hsemon, Eurydice. 



ANTIF NH. 



ANTirONH. 

'12 kolvov avrdSeXcfrov *Io-[ir)vri<z tcdpa, 

dp oIcrr9- on Zevs twv air Olhlirov kclkoov 

ottolov ov%l vSv ere ^coaacv reXel ; * 

ovSev yap ovt aXyeivbv ovt arrjs arep, 

ovt alayjpov ovt cltljjlov ecr3-\ ottolov ov 5 

rcov acov re fca/jLoov ovk ottcdtt iyco /cafccov • 

teal vvv rt rovr av §acri 7ravS?]fjLq) iroKet 

KrjpvyjJia 9-etvaL top aTpaTTjybv apTLco? ; 

e^e£9 ti fceLSij/covcras ; r\ ere Xav&aveu 

7T/309 tou9 (f>l\ov<; GTeiyovTa tcov e^poiv fcatcd ; 10 

HMHNH. 

i/jLol [lev ovSeh {av$o$, 'Avtijovt], (frlXcov 

ov& rjovs ovt aXyeivos iket , e£ otov 

Svolv dBeXcjyoLV eGTeprfirjiJLev Svo, 

uca QavovTcov v/^epa SlttXtj yepi* 

iirel Be (f>pov86s €o~tlv 'Apyeicov crTpaTos 15 

iv vv/ctI ttj vvv, ovSev olS* virepTepov, 

ovt evTvyovcra [laXkov ovt aTcofievrj. 

* reXeiu expresses the notion of acting, together with that of complet- 
ing. — Wachsmuth, i., 468. 



78 20$0KAE0Y2 

ANTirONH. 
jjSr) fca\w<z, /ecu <f eKTQS avXeicov ttvXcov 
tovS* ovvetc i^eirefjuirovy a>9 /lovrj kXvols. 

I2MHNH. 

20 tl 8* eart ; SrjXols yap tl KaXyalvovcr eVo?. 

ANTirONH. 

• 

ov yap ratyov vcov tcov /cacnyvrjTCD Kpecov 
tov fjuev irpoTia-as, tov 8' aTLfiaaas e%eL ; 
*Ereoickea /juiv, a><? XiyovcrL, avv Sltcy 
XprjaSeh SiKala fcal vojjlco Kara ^Sopo? 

25 efcpvyfre, tols evepS-ev evTLfiov ve/cpols ■ 
tov 8 aSXitos Qavovra HoXvveUovs vi/cvv 
aarolcTL (fxicrtv i/c/ce/crjpv^SaL to fir) 
Tacfxp /cdkvyjrisk firjSe KcoKvaai tlvcl, 
edv 8 dfcXavTOv curafyov, olcovols yXvKvv 

30 3-rjoavpbv ehopcoaL irpbs X&piv f3opa<;. 
TOtavTa tyacri tov aya&bv KpeovTa ctol 
/cdfiOL, Xeyco yap /cdfie, icrjpv^avT e^ecv, 
KaX Bevpo velcr&ai TavTa toIctl fir) elhoauv 
cracpr) 7rpo/cr]pv^ovTa, KaX to irpdyfi dyew 

35 ou% a)? irap ov$ev, aXS? 0? av tovtcov tl Spa, 
cpovov irpotceZa&aL SrjfioXevo-Tov iv iroXeL. 
ovtcos e%eL ctol TavTa, koi Sel^ets Ta%a, 
eiT evyevr)s Trecfrvtcas eiT eaSrXcov Katcrj. 

HMHNH. 

tl , co ToXaLcppov, €L Tad ev tovtols, eyco 
40 Xvovcr av el& airTOvcra TrposQelfirjv irXeov ; 

ANTirONH. 

el %v/jL7rovr)<T€L<; koi %vvepydcr€L cncbireL. 

I2MHNH. 

7T0L0V tl /CLvSvvevfia ; irov yvcbfir)*; ttot el ; 



ANTITONH. -79 

ANTirONH. 

el tov veicpbv %vv TrjSe Kovcptet^ %epL 

I2MHNH. 

rj yap voecs 3-a,7TT€LV crcj), airdppr\TOV iroXeu ; 

ANTirONH. 

tov yovv e/ibv Ka\ tov o~bv, rjv av fir) SeXrjs, 45 

d8e\<p6v • ov yap Sr) Trpohovcr aXoocrofxai. 

I2MHNH. 

3) o"X€TkLa, KpeovTOS avTeipr^KOTO^ ; 

ANTirONH. 

d\\ y ovSev avT<p tcov ificov /jl elpyeiv fieTa. 

HMHNH. 

oXjJLOL • cf)p6vrjcrov, 00 KacnyvrjTrj, TraTrjp 

o>9 vojv dire^r)^ Sv^/cXe^s t dircoXeTO, 50 

777309 avTOcfxopcov a{i7r\afcr]/jLaTC0V &7r\a9 

0-^669 apd%a$ auT09 avTovpya> %epi % 

eirevra fJbrjTrjp koX yvvr), harXovv e7T09, 

TrXetcTalcnv apTavaicn XcojSaTat /3tov • 

TpiTOV S' a8e\(f)cb 8vo [Jbiav icaSt r)/j,epav 55 

aVTOKTOVOVVTS TOO Ta\aL7T(OpC0 fibpov 

kolvov KaTetpydaavT eir dXkrfXoLV j(epolv. 

vvv 8' au /ioi>a S?) i>a) XeXecfifieva omirei 

ocrop kclkigt oXovfieS-', el vofjbov /3la 

tyfjcfzov TVpdvvcov rj fcpaTrj irape^Lfiev. 60 

dX)C evvoelv %prj tovto fiev, yvvairf oti 

€(J}V/jl€v, a>9 7rpo9 avSpa? ov fiayovfLeva • 

eirevra 8\ ovve/c dpj(6ixea^ i/c fcpeccrcrovcov, 

teal TavT d/coveov kclti tcovS* dXylova. 

iyco fA€V ovv avrovaa rou9 V7rb %&ovb<? 65 

%vyyvoiav ccr^etv, a>9 ^id^ofiai TaSe, 



80 20$0KAE0Y2 

tol$ ev Teket j3ef3o)cri TTelaofiat. to yap 
irepiaad irpdaaetv ov/c e%et vovv ovBeva. 

ANTirONH. 

ovt av fceXevcrcufJL , ovr av, el Qekocs ere 
TO irpdaaeiv, eyuov y av 7]B£cqs Bp&rjs /lira. 
aXX caS- oirola aov ho reel, icelvov S' eyco 
Qatyco. /caXov [jlol tovto iroiovarj S-aveiv. 
<^iKrj jul€t avrov /celao/JLai, fytkov fiera, 
oaia 7ravovpyrjaaa • eirel ifkeicov %/ooz^o?, 
75 ov Bel fjb dpea/ceiv rots /cdrco tcjv ivS-dBe. 
e/cel yap del /ceiao/iai • crol S' el Botcel y 
ra rcov 9-eoov evrifi drtfjidaaa e^e. 



HMHNH. 

eyco fxev ov/c aTi\xa Troiovybai, to Be 
/3lo, 7To\ltcov Bpav ecj)vv dp,r)yavo<$. 

ANTirONH. 

oO av fuev Tab av irpovyoi ■ eyco be or] racpov 
Xcoaova* dBeXcfxp (jyikrarq) iropevaopiai* 

HMHNH. 

otfxoo TaXaivrjs, &>? virepBeBoi/cd aov. 

ANTirONH. 

fir) 'fjbov 7rpordp/3eL • rbv aov e%op&ov ttotjaov. 

I2MHNH. 

a\V ovv irpoiAr)vvar)$ ye tovto /xrjBevl 
85 Tovpyov, Kpvfyy) Be xevQe, avv 8' avTcos iyco. 

ANTirONH. 

ot/JLoi • /caTavBa* ttoWov e^lcov eaei 
aiyo)a\ idv /jltj iraai tcrjpv^rjs TaBe. 



ANTITONH. 81 

I2MHNH. 

3-ep/jLrjv €7rl ^v^polcrc /capScap e^a?. 

ANTirONH. 

aX)C oZS' dpicncovcr oh jidXicrT ahelv /jL€ XPV* 

I2MHNH. 

el teal Svprjcrec y • a\X a/jLTj^dvcov ep&9. 90 

ANTirONH. 

ov/covp, otclv Br] fjby crS-evco, ireTravcrofiaL. 

HMHNH. 

dpyj)p Se 3-rjpav ov irpkirei ra/Jifyava. 

ANTirONH. 

el ravra Xe^eis, e%Qapel /jl€P e£ ifiov, 

eyftpa 8e tS 3-avovTL irposfceiaeL Sitcy. 

a\V ea jie KaX rrjv i% i/iov $v$(3ov\iap 95 

7ra3-ecv to heiphp tovto. irelcroiiai yap ov 

toctovtop ovSep, cocrre pbrj ov fcaXcos 3-apelp. 

I2MHNH. 

a\V el So/cel croc, arel^e • tovto 8' tcr3-\ otl 
apovs pbep epx ei > T °h cf)i\oc<; S' opS-co? (j>C\r]. 

XOP03. 

2 t pocp}) a'. 

AktIs ae\lov, to tcdWccrTOp eirTairvKto (frapep 100 
&rjj3a tcop irpoTepcop tydos, 
ecj>dp9-r]<; ttot \ & yjpvcreas; a/JLepas /3\e(f>apop, 
Acptcaicop virep pee9-pcop fjuoXovaa, 105 

top Xev/cacrTTLp Apyeiop (pcoTa fidpTa irapcrayia, 
(f>vydSa irpoBpofJbop o^VTepco Kipiqcracra j(aXiP(p • 

2 u err 7] pa a'. 
09 i(j> rj/xeTepa ya UoXvpeUovs 110 

dp$el<? pecKecop if; dfjufaXoycop 



82 20$0KAE0T2 

o^ea Kkd^cdv 
aleros eh yav V7repe7rra, 
Xev/crjs %lovo<; irrepvyi areyavos, 
115 iroXkaiv fieS* ottXcov 

%vv $' hnroicbiiois Kopv&ecraiv. 

' A v t i <r t p o <p % a. 

crds S' virep fjueXaSpcov Sacfrotvalaiv dfi^L^avcbv kvkXw 

\6y)(ai<; eirrdirvXov aro/JLa 
120 e/3a, irplv ttoS* dfierepcov alfidrcov yevvaiv 

ifKTja^rjvai re ical crrecpdvcofjua irvpycov 

TrevicdevSr r/ Hcf)aicrTOV e\elv. T0Z09 dfxcfl vojt ird&r) 
125 irdrayo^ "Apeos, dvTvnaku* hv^eipcoiia Bpcucovrt. 

j Aj/t i<rv (Ttt) fia a'. 
Zeiss yap fAeydXrjs yK(i>Gar)<$ ko/jlttovs 
vTrepeyftalpeL, icai <r(j)a$ isiScov 
7roW<p pevficcTL 7rpo$VLcrcro/jLevov$ 
130 yjpvcrov Kavayr\ $' vTrepoirras, 
TraXrcp parrel irvpl /3a\/3l8(ov 

67T dfCpCDV 7)07] 

VLK7]V OpfJLOOVT dXokd^CU, 

2t p 0$}) 0. 

dvTLTVTra S' eVl ya irecre TavTaXcoQel? 
135 irvpcfroposy 09 t6t€ fiawo/jueva %vv opfia 

f3afc%evcDv eireirvei 

piirah ey&iGTo&v dvificov. 

el)(e S' aXka ra [lev, 

aXka S' eV aX\,ot<; eirevd^ia o-TV(f>e\l^cov [leya? "Apr]? 
140 Begiocrecpos. 

€7TTa \o%ayol yap eft eirra irvXais 
rajflevres Icroi irpos laovs ekiirpv 
ZtivX Tpoiratcp irdy^dkKa reXi], 
7tKt)v tolv arvyepolv, to irarpos evo$ 
145 /jLTjrpos re fiias fyvvre koS avrolv 



ANTITONH. 83 

BiKparels Xoyxas crrrjcravT eyerov 
koivov S-avdrov pbepos a/icpcD* 

'Al/T l(TT pO(p)) 0. 

dXXa yap a pbeyaXoovvpio^ rjXQs NUa 

ra 7ro\vap/JLaT(p dvTiyapelcra Qrjfia, 

ifc \xev Br) TroXe^oov 150 

tcov vvv 9-eoSe XrjcrfAocrvvav, 

S-ecov Be vaoi)$ %opo?9 

iravvvyioi^ iravTds eireX&coiiev, 6 ©?y/3a? S' eXeXfyQcov 

BdK%Lo$ apxoc. 

aX)C oBe yap Br) (3acriXev$ %copa$ } 155 

Kpicov 6 MevoL/cicDs, 

veoyjiolcri Secov eVl avvTvyiai^ 

ycopel, Tiva Br) jjltjtlv epecrcrcov, 

qtl av<yK\r)TOV rrjvBe yepovTcov 

TrpovS-ero Xecryr\v, 160 

KOLVCp K7]pvy/juarL 7reyL6i/ra? ; 

KPEHN. 

"AvBpes, ra \iev Br) 7r6Xeo? dcrcfraXco? 3-eol, 

7roW<p crdXq) aetcravTe^, copScoaav nrdXiv ■ 

v/ias S' iyco Trofiirouriv itc irdvTcov Bi^a 

eareOC t/cecrQac, tovto fiev ra Aatov 165 

crefiovTas elBcos ev Spovcov del /cpdrrj, 

TOVT aitS-lS, fjVLK OIBlttovs copS-ov itoXlv, 

Kairel BccoXer, d/JLcfA tovs Keivcov ere 

7ralBa$ /Aevovras epLTreBocs §povr\iia<Jiv. 

OT OVV 6K6LV0L 7T/309 BlTtXtj^ [AOipaS fltaV 170 

fcajy rj/iepav coXovto iraicravTes re fcal 

irXrjyevTes avro^etpi crvv [Aider [laTi, 

iyco fcpdrT} Br) irdvra tcai S-p6vov$ eyao 

yevovs tear dyyiGTela tcov oXcoXotcov. 

dpLTj^avov Be ttclvtos dvBpbs i/c/JLaS-ecv 175 

"tyvxfjv re Kal cj^povrj/jua tcai yvcofArjv, irpXv av 



84 20$0KAE0T2 

dpyal? re koi vo/xotaiv evTpifSrj^ cpavfj. 
ifjidi yap, 09T69 Trdaav ev&vvcov ttoXiv 
p,r) tcov dplaTcov aTTTerai fiovXevfJbdTcov, 

ISO a\V etc cfiofiov rov yXcocrcrav ey/cXr/cras eyei, 
/cd/acrTO$ eivau vvv re koX irdXat So/cel* 
teal fiet^ov 09T69 dvrl rrjs avrov irdrpa^ 
cptXov vo/jll%€L, tovtov ovSa/Jbov Xeyco. 
eyco yap, lcttco Z<ev<z o Travis opcov aei y 

185 ovt av (Tt(D7rrj<TaifJLL, rrjv drrjv opcov 
areiypverav dcrrot^ dvrl t?)9 crcoTrjpLas, 
ovt av cptXov ttot avBpa cjvs/jLevf] y&ovbs 
Bel/jL7)v ifjLavTco, tovto ytyvcocr/ccov, ore 
7]$* early 7] crco^ovcra, koX ravr7]$ ein 

190 irXeovre? 6pS-r]<; tou9 (plXov? Troiovp,e&a. 
TOiol$$ eyco voyLOicri ttjv$ av^co iroXiv ■ 
/cal vvv dSeXcpd rcovhe Krjpv^as eyco 
dcrrolcTL iraihcov tcov dir Olhiirov irepi* 
'Ereo/cXea jxev, 09 iroXecos virepjiaycov 

195 oXcoXe TrjsSs, irdvr dptarevcra^ Sopt, 

rdcffO) re Kpv^rat koX rd irdvr eefiayvicrai,, 
a TO69 dpicTTOis epyerai Karco ve/cpols • 
rhv 8 av ^vvat/jiov rovSe, TloXweUri Xeyco, 
09 yrjv irarpcoav fcal Qeovs tov$ eyyevels, 

200 cpvya? tcareX&cov, rjMXrjcre fiev irvpl 
irprjcrat Karate pas rj&eX7]cre S' aY/taro? 
tcoivov rrdcrao-^at, rov$ Se SovXcocras dyeiv, 
tovtov iroXev rf)8 eKKeterjpvterai rdcpco 
/JL7]T€ KTepl^eiv fJbrjTe kco federal Tiva, 

205 eav cf a&airrov, teal irpbs oleovcov hepa? 
/cal 7rpo9 tevvcov iSecrrbv al/acr&evT IBecv. 
tolovK e/jbbv cppovrj/ia, kovttot etc y ejxov 
Ti/Jbrjv irpoe^ova ol tca/eol tcov evBltecov. 
dXX' 097^9 evvovs rfjSe ry iroXet, Bavcov 

210 /cal %cov 6/Wo>9 e% ifiov rifjurjcreTai. 



ANTITONH. 85 

XOP03. 

aol ravr dpecr/cec, iral Mevot/cecos Kpecov, 
rbv rfjSe Svsvovv /ecu rbv evfjbevr) iroXei. 
vo/jLG) Se xprjcrQcu ttclvti itov y evecrrl gol 
ical rcov 9-avovrcov ycoirbcroi %5)fJbev irepi. 

KPEHN. 
O)? CtV CTKOTTol VVV TJT6 TCOV elpTj/JUeVCDV. 215 

XOP02. 

vecorepep rep tovto fiacrrd^eLv 7rp63-e$. 

KPEGN. 

aX)C eta erocjxoc rod ve/cpov y eirlaKoiroi, 

XOP02. 
tl oi]T av aXkcp tovt €7revT€\\oLs ere ; 

KPEHN. 

to /jlt] ^Tuyjtipelv tols amicnovcriv rdSe. 

XOPOX 
ovk earLV ovrco [JLcbpos o? S-avelv epa. 220 

KPEHN, 

KotX fjbrjv 6 [jucr&6$ y ovtos. a\V V7T eXiriScov 
avSpas to fcepSos iroXkaKLs StcoXecrev. 

*YAAH. 
ava%, ipco /jtev ov% ottcd? rd^ovs vtto 
8v<z7rvov$ Ifcdvco kovcj>ov e^dpas TroSa. 
7ro\Xa9 yap eo")(pv (frpovrlScov eTTLardaeLS, 225 

68ol$ kvkXcov i/xavrbv eh dvaCTTpO(f)7]V. 
^ V XV y^P V^ a ttoKKcl \jlol fivSov/jLevr] • 
" raXa?, tl ^copels ol /idXcov ScbaeL? Slktjv ; 
tXtJ/jlcov, [levels av ; teal rdS eiaeraL Kpecov 
aXkov Trap dvSpos ; 7rco? av Brjr ovk akyvvel ; " 230 
T0tav& eXlaacov t\vvtov a^oXfj Ta%u?, 



86 20$0KAE0T2 

'XpvrcDS 6S09 ftpayeia yiyverat fxafcpd. 
Te\o9 ye [xevTOL Bevp evUrjaev fxoXelv, 
col, tcel to firjBev i^epco, (f>pd(rco 8' o/iW9. 
235 rrjs €\7r/So? yap epyo/iai BeBpay/xevos, 
to /jltj ira&elv av aXko ifKr)v to /jLopcrLfMOV. 

KPEHN. 

tl S' iaTLV, dvSt ov TrjvS* eyeis d^vfiiav ; 

<f»TAAE. 
(f>pdaai &i\(D cot irp&Ta Ta/JLavTov. to yap 
irpayp, ovt eopaa , ovt euoov o$tl<; rjv opwv * 
240 ov8* av hiicaicos e'9 fca/cov irkaoipjl tl, 

KPEHN. 

ev ye GToyaCpi /cdrro^pdyvvo'ac kvk\g> 

to irpayixa. BrjXols $* g$9 tl arjixavcov veov. 

$TAAE. 
tcl BeLva yap tol irposTiSycr okvov tto\vv. 

KPEHN. 

ovkovv epeh htot, elT diraKKa^el^ aireL ; 

«*»TAAE. 
245 KaX Brj \eyco ctol. tov ve/cpov tl$ dpTLcos 
&dy}ra<z fieftrj/ce, Kairi %/0<»tI BvtyLav 
kovlv irdkvvas /cacfiayLcrTevcras a XPV* 

KPEX2N. 

tl $i)<; ; rfc dvBpcov rjv 6 To\jMr]aa^ TaBe ; 

$TAAE. 
ovk oIS' • i/cel yap ovTe tov yevfjBo? rjv 
250 TfkrjyfjL, ov BLKeWr)? e/c/3o\rj » cttu<£\09 Be yr) 
KaX %epcro<;, appcbtj ovB* e7rr)fia%evfiev7] 
TpoyplaLV, dXk* aarj/Aos ovpyaTr)? tl<z rjv* 
07TG)9 S' 7rpa)T0S rj/jLLV r)/jLepoafC07ro<; 



axtitonh. 87 

BeUvvcn, iraa Sav/ia Bv^epe? iraprjv. 
6 /J,ev yap rjcfxiviCTTO, TV\x^pr]^ fiev ov } 255 

XeTTTY] B\ ayo? cf)£vyovTO$ cw?, eirrjv kovls. 
crrjiiela B" ovre S-rjpos, ovre rov tcvvcov 
iXS-ovTO?, ov cnrdcravTos i^ecfraLpero. 
Xoyoi 8* iv dXXrjXoccnv eppod-ovv fecucoi, 
(f>vXa% iXey^cov cfrvXa/ca, kolv eylyvero 260 

7rXr]yrj reXevrcocr \ ovB' 6 kcoXiktcov iraprjv. 
el? yap tl$ tjv efcaaro^ ov^eipyacr/jLevos, 
feovBeU ivapyifc, aXX* efyevye fjbrj elBivac. 
rj/jbev 8* eroL/iOL /cat fivSpov? acpecv %epolv, 
teal irvp Biepmiv, koX 3-eov$ opfcco/jLorecp, 265 

"To fii]T€ Bpacrac /jltjt€ rep ^vveiBkvai 
to irpayiia fiovXevaavTi, /jlt]t elpyacr/jLevcp. 
TeXos B\ ot ovBev r)v ipevvcocrcv irXeov, 
Xeyet tl<z el?, o? irdvTas i<z ireBov redpa 
vevcrat (£>6f3(p 7rpovTpey\rev. ov ydp efyo/JLev 270 

OUT aVTL(f)COV6LVj OV& 07TG)? BpOJPT€$ KoXcOS 

irpa^aLfAev. rjv 8' 6 /jlvS-os, oo$ avoicrTeov 

crol Tovpyov eir) tovto, kov^I KpviTTeov. 

teal TauT ivl/ca, /ca/JLe top Bv^BaifMova 

TrdXos tcaS-cupel tovto TayaS-bv Xaftecv. 275 

7rdp€L/JLL S' CUCCOV OV% ifCOVCTCV, oZS' OTl. 

GTepyet yap ovBeU ayyeXov fcaxcov eircov. 

XOP02. 

aval;, i/JLol toi, fir; ti /cat 9-€7jXaTOV 
Tovpyov t6B\ r) ^vvvoia fiovXevet irdXau 

KPEHN. 

iravcrai, irplv opyr\s teal /jl€ fiea-Tcoo-ac Xeycov, 280 

fir) 'fevpeS-fjs avovs ts fcal yepcov dfia, 
Xeyecs yap ov/c dve/CTa, Bal/iova? Xeycov 
irpovoiav co"%€Lv TOvBe tov vetcpov irkpi, 

7T0T€p0V V7repTL/Jic!)VT€^ 0>9 €V€pyeT7]V 



88 20$0KAE0T2 

285 etcpvTTTOV avrov, ostls a/JL(f)LKiovas 
vaovs irvpdocrcov rjXQe Kava^rj/xaTa, 
KaX yfjv ifceivcDV fcal vo/jlovs BiacrKeBcov ; 
rj tou9 kclkovs tl/jlcovtcls ehopas &eovs ; 
ovk earcv. aXka ravra koI irdXau TroXeoos 

290 avBpes jjloXls cfyepovres ippo&ovv €/jloI, 
Kpvcfzf) Kapa aeiovres • ovb* vtto %vy<p 
\6<j)ov BtKato)^ efyov, co? crrepyew ifxe. 
etc T&vBe tovtovs e^eTriarajJuai fcaXoos 
7rapr]yijLevov$ iiiaQolaiv elpyda&cu rdSe. 

295 ovBev yap dv&panroLGLV, olov apyvpos, 

fca/cbv vo/mct/jl e/SXaore. tovto ko\ irokeis 
irop&el, toS* avBpa? i%avicrTr)cnv Bo/jlcov • 
toS* eKBtBdo-Ket /cat TrapaXKacraei (f>pevas 
yjpr\crTd<z 7rpo<; aldyjpa 7rpdy/uba& XaTaoSai fiporcov ■ 

300 iravovpyias K eBet^ev dv&pcbrroLs e%eiv, 
koi iravTos epyov Svsaefieiav elBevai. 
octoi Be yuoSapvovvTes; rjvvaav TaBe, 
Xpovco ttot e^eirpa^av &>9 Bovvai BtKrjv. 
aKK eiirep icr^ei Z<ev<z er e£ e/iov oepas, 

305 ev tovt iiTLCTTaa, op/aos Be croi \eyco, 
el [jur] top avro^etpa TovBe rod rdcfiov 
evpovres eicfyavelr e? 6(fr&a\jjLOv<; i/Jiovs, 
ov% v/uv r/ AcBrj<; jjlovvos dpfceaei, irplv av 
%covt€<; /cpefxacrrol TrjvBe BrjXcoa-r}^ vfipw, 

310 r iv elBoTe? to tcepSos ev&ev oloriov, 

to \onrov dp7rd%7)T€, koX fld3n]&, OTL 

ovk if; diravTOS Bel to KepBalveiv (f>i\e2v. 

iK tcov yap alo-yjp&v Xrj/jL/jidTcov tov<$ ifkeiovas 

aTcojuLevovs lBols av rj aearpcrfjuevov^. 

$TAAH. 
315 elirelv Be BcocreLS ; rj aTpacfrels ovtcds lco ; 

KPEHN. 

ovk ola&a koi vvv o>9 dviapw \eyei$ ; 



ANTITONH. 89 

*TAAH. 
iv toIglv oocrlv tj VI rf) ^rvX0 Sd/cvec / 
KPEHN. 

ri Se ; pv9-fjLi£eL$ rrjv i/jb?]V \virr\v oirov : 

$TAAE. 
o opcov cr avia ras (ppevas, ra o cot eyco. 

KPEHN. 

oX}ju o>9 a\7]/jLa SijXov etcirefyv/cbs el. 320 

<£>YAAE. 

ov/covv to y epyov tovto iroLrjcras ttotL 

KPEHN. 

/cal ravr hr apyvpto ye ttjv ^v^v 7rpo8ovs. 

$TAAE. 

cpev* 

rj heivov, & Soxel ye /cal tyevSrj Sofcecv. 

KPEHN. 

KOfi-^eve vvv ttjv 86%av ■ el Se ravr a fir) 

cjxivelre jjlol tou9 Spoovras, e£epelS-\ ore 325 

ra SecXa icephr) Trrjfjiova^ ipyd^erat. 

«i>YAAS. 
aX)C evpeQeLTj jjuev /jloXlctt ■ eaz^ Se to£ 
XrjcpS^fj re /cal firj, tovto yap tv^tj icpivel, 
ov/c ecrS* otto? o-^ret crv Sevp i\MvTa fie. 
/cal vvv yap e/CTo<; ikircSo^ yvco/uL7]<; t ejjbi)^ 330 

ccoQeh ocpelXco to?s Qeocs 7ro\Xrjv %cipiv. 

XOP02. 

2 t p <p7] a. 

IloWa tcl Secva, /covSev avS-pcoirov SecvoTepov irekei • 
tovto /cal tto\cov irepav ttovtov yeiiiepito votcq 335 
X^pel, irepiftpvyLouTiv 



90 20$OKAEOT2 

irepcov vir otS/jiacnv, 
Secov re rav virepTaTav, Tav 
atySiTov, d/ca/jbdrav dirorpverai, 
340 eikofievcov dporpcov eVo? ek eVo?, hnrela yevei iro\ev(ov. 

'Avt l(TT pO(j>^} a'. 
343 KOVcflOVOCQV T€ (J)V\0V OpVL&COV dfJbfaftaXcbv dj€C 

345 fcal Srjpcbv dyplcov e&vr), ttovtov r elvakiav (pvacv 

airelpaiGi Bt/cTVOfcXooaTow, 

7T6pi^>paSr]<; dvrjp • 

Kparel he /Jbrj^avac^ dypavXov 

350 &r}po<? opeaaL^dra, \a<nav%€vd & 

353 L7T7nov a^erai dficjn Xocfrov %vybv ovpeibv r d/c/Mrjra 

ravpov. 

2 T po(p^ 0. 

real (fr&iyfia /ecu rjve^ioev (j)p6v7]fjLa, koX daTWo/Mov^ 
355 dpyds iSiSdgaro kcli BvsavXcov 

7rdy(op virai&peia koX 

Bvsofjiflpa (pevyetv (3i\7], 
360 iravToiropos • airopos eir ovBev epyvrai 

to [JueKKov ' r/ AiSa jjlovov 

(f>ev!;cv ovfc eTrd^erat, • 

vocrcov S' dfirj^dvcov cfrvyd? ^v/jL7ri(j)pa<7Tac. 

'Apt t err p o <p }} 0. 
365 cro<f)6v ti to firj-^avoev Tkyyas virep eKirlK e%<av 

7T0T6 [lev /ca/cbv, oXXot eir io$\bv epiret, • 

v6/jlov<? irapetpcov %#oz/o? 

Qecov t evopicov BUav, 
370 v-^riiroXt^ • airoXis, otw to fifj kclKov 

%vveo-Ti, toX/jlcls %dpiv. 

fjbrjT ifiol Trapeo-Tio? 
375 yevoiTO firjT Icrov <f>povfi)V o? TaK epSet. 

69 BaLfiovtov Tepas d^LVoS) 
ToSe, 7tco? elBco? avTiXoyrjcrco 



ANTITONH. 91 

rrjvS ov/c elvai iralK ^AvTLyovrjv. 

(S BvO~T7]VO$ 

zeal hvcrrrjvov Trarpos OlBiiroBa, 380 

TL 7T0T ; OV Btf 7T0V <X€ 7' dincTTOvcTav 
T0Z9 ftacnXelois dirdyovGi v6/jlol$ 
/cal iv dcppocrvvrj icaQeXovTes ; 

<*>TAAE. 
'JETS' ear i/cecvrj rovpyov rj ^ecpyaor/Jbipr] • 
ttjvcV eiXofiev Qairrovcrav. dXXd ttov Kpicov ; 385 

XOP02. 

oo etc oofJbcov a'yoppos a? oeov irepa. 

KPEHN. 

tl S' eo"T£ ; iroia ^vjifxeTpo^ irpovfiriv ti>XV ; 

*TAAH. 
ava%, f3pOTolcnv ovBev £<jt dTTcofiOTOV. 
tyevBet yap rj ^irivoia ttjv yvcofirjv • eirel 
c)(pXf) iroS rfeeiv Bevp* av i^rjv^ovv iyco, 390 

tcu<z crais aTreiXals, ah i^ei/jidcrS^rjv tot€. 
aX?C rj yap eVro9 teal Trap* iXirlBas %<zpa 
eoi/cev aXXrj /jltj/cos ovBev rjBovf), 
tffccD, Bt op/ccov /ca'nrep cop dircofiOTOS, 
KopTjv aycov ttjvB\ tj /caQevpe&rj Tacfrov 395 

tcocr/JLOvcra. /cXrjpos ivS-dB* ov/c eirdXXeTO, 
aXX ecTT 6/jlov rS-ovp^aiov, ov/c aXXov } too€. 
koi vvv, ava%, TrjvB* auro9, a>9 S-eXecs, Xaftcov 
/cal icplve /cd^eXeyx ' eyco 8' iXevQepo? 
Bi/cacos elpLL tcovB' dirrjXXd^av Ka/ccov. 400 

KPEHN. 

a76£9 Be TrjvBe tcq Tpoirco iro&ev Xaficbv ; 

*YAAH. 

avTrj tov avBp e$<Z7rre. irdvT eiricrTacrai. 



92 20<f>0KAE0Y2 

KPEHN. 
rj /cal %vvieL<; ical Xeyecs op&cos a fyrjs ; 

*YAAH. 

ravrrjv y IBcov QdirTovaav ov av tov ve/cpbv 
405 direliras. dp evBrfka /cal aa^>r\ Xeyco ; 

KPEHN. 

/cal 7r<S? oparat /cdiriXrjirTO? ypiS-rj ; 

STAAE. 
TOIOVTOV TjV TO ITpdy/JL, 07TC09 jap 7]/CO/jL€V, 
7Ty0O9 GOV TCL BeiV i/CecV iirrjireLXrjfjLeVOl, 

iracrav kovlv crrjpavTes, rj icaTelye tov 

410 ve/cvv, /ulvBwv re crco/ma yvfivcocravTes ev, 
Ka^rjfjbe^ d/cpcov i/c irdycov virrjve/JLOL, 
ocr/jLrjv air avTOV fir] fiakrj irefyevyoTes, 
iyepTi klvcov dvBp dvrjp iirtppoSoL? 
icaicolcnv, el tl$ tov8* d^eiBrjaoi irovov. 

415 yjpbvov TaB J rjv toctovtov, e? t iv alS-ipc 
fiecrcp KarkaTif] Xajiirpbs rfklov tcv/ckos, 
/cal /cavfi e$a\ire • /cal tot i£al(f)vr]<; %&ovb<z 
Tvcfrchs delpas a/crjirTov, ovpdviov ayos, 
irlfiirXrjai ireBtov, iracrav al/ci^cov (fioftrjv 

420 v\rj<; ireBidBos, iv S' ifieo-TW&r] fieyas 

al&rjp • fjLvcravTes S' elyofiev Qelav voaov. 
/cal tov8* diraXkayevTOS iv Xpbvw fia/cpa>, 
r) irals bpcurai, /cava/cco/cvei iri/cpa<z 
opvt&os 6%vv (fiQoyyov, &>? oTav /cevvjs 

425 evvr)$ veocrcrcbv optpavbv /SXe^jry Xe^os • 
ovtco Be yavTr), ^Ckbv o>9 opa ve/cvv y 
yooccnv i^cpfico^ev, i/c S' dpas /ca/cd? 
r)paTO Tolai Tovpyov i^etpyao-fievoi^, 
/cal yepcrlv evSvs Bl^luv c^epet kovlv, 

430 i/c t ev/cpoTr/TOV ^akicea^ dpBrjv irpb^pv 



antitonh. 93 

yoalcri TpicrirovSoicn top vetcvv crease. 
XV^S i>$ovT€s le/jbecrQa, crvv Si viv 

S^TjpCO/jLeS-' 6v9-U$ OvSeV i/C7T€7r\7]yfX€V7]V ■ 

Kal rds re 7rp6cr3-€p ra$ re vvv r]keyypiiev 

7r payees ' airapvo^ S' ovSevos /ca^icrraro, 435 

a/Jb rjSecos e/juoiye KakyeuvS)^ apa. 

to [lev yap avrhv e/c fca/cobv Trefyevyevai 

rjSccrTOp, €9 fea/ebv Se tou9 (j)l\ov^ ayeiv 

akyetvov, dXka irdvra rav^t r/crcro) Xafteiv 

iflOl 7T€(j)VfC€ TTjS eytf% CTCDT7}pLa$. 440 

KPEHN. 

ere Srj, ere ttjv vevoverav eh irehov /cdpa, 
4*11$, rj tcarapvel /jltj SeSpa/cevao TaSe ; 

ANTirONH. 

fcal <$>r]jjLl Spaerai, kov fcarapvovfiaL to [Jbrj. 

KPEHN. 

o-u fiev ko/jll^ols av creavTov fj &e\ei$ 

e£co fiapeia? clIticus eXevS-epov • 445 

<rv S\ elire fiot, fir) jjltjicos, dXka ervvTo/Mos, 

jjSr]? to, fC7]pvx$ivTa fir] irpderereiv TaSe ; 

ANTirONH. 

r}8r). tl S' ov/c efieWov ; ifitjxivf] yap rjv. * 

KPEGN. 

fcal Syjt eTo\/xa9 tov^S' virepftaiveiv vofiov? ; 

ANTirONH. 

ov yap tl fJLOt Zevs r\v 6 tcrjpv%a$ TaSe, 450 

ovS* rj %vvouco$ tcov KaTco S-ecov AiKT], 

6l tovsK ev dv&p&nroLerLV copiaav vofJbovs • 

ovSe aS-evecv tocovtov (pofjayv tcl era 

fCTjpvy/jLajy, co9 TaypaiTTa tcaerfyaXrj Qecov 

vo/M/JLa Svvaer&aL QvrjTov 6v& vTrepSpafielv. 455 



94 20$0KAE0Y2 

ov yap tl vvv ye /ca^Ses, aX)C del irore 
%f) ravra, KovSeU olSev i£ orov 'fyavrj. 
tovtcov iyco ovfc e/xeWov, avSpbs ovBevb? 
(ppovrj/na Beicracr, iv 9-eolcrL ttjv SUrjv 

460 Scocretv. Savov/xevT] yap if;y$r), tl 8' ov ; 
Kel fir] av 7rpov/c/]pv£a<;. el Be rod yjpovov 
7rpocr3-€V Qavov/MiL, tcepBos avr iyco Xeyco. 
ostls yap ev ttoWolctlv, co? iyco, /caKoc? 
Ly, 7rco? oo ovyi Kardavoov Kepoos (pepec ; 

465 ovtcds efioiye rovSe rod /ibpov Tvyeiv 

irap ovoev aXyos • aW av eu rov e§ e/jLrjs 
fjL7]Tpbs S-avovr a&aTTTOV rjvo-%6fjLr)v vefcvv, 
Kelvoi? av rjXyovv ' TolsBe S' obtc akyvvojiai. 
crol 8' el Bokco vvv fioopa Bpcocra Tvyyavew, 

470 cr%eB6v tl fJLcopco [icopiav 6<p\ccr/cdvco. 

XOP02. 

BrfXo? to yevvTj/jL oojjbbv %<~ oo/jlov iraTpbs 
tt}9 7ratS6^ • eltceiv 8* ov/c enriGTaTai fcafcols. 

KPEHN. 

aXk' lctS-l tol tcl o-tckrjp ayav c\>povr\\iaTa 
TriTTTeiv fidXcaTa, teal tov iyKpareGTarov 

475 criB^pov otttov etc Trvpb? TrepLcr/ceXr} 

3-pavcrQivTa teal payivTa ifXelcrT av ehiBoL?. 
a/Mfcpo? yakivco 8' olBa tou? Qvpovfjuevovs 
67T7rou? /caTapTvS-evTas. ov yap eicirekei 
(ppovetv fiey, o$tl$ Bov\6$ Igti tcov 7r£Va?. 

480 avTT) S' v/3pl£etv fiev tot e^rjirio-TaTO, 
vofiov? v7repj3aLvovaa tov$ TrpofceLfievovs ■ 
vfipi<Z B\ iirel BeBpa/cev, tfBe BevTepa, 
tovtol? iirav^elv, koX BeBpaicvlav ye\av, 
rj vvv iyco fiev ov/c avrjp, ovtt] 8' avrjp, 

485 el tovt dvarX TjjBe Keio~eTai /cpaTTj. 
aKK €lt aoe\(pr)$, ec*} o/jLatfioveo-Tepa 



antitonh. 95 

tov Travrb? i)\uv Zr\vb^ epKeiov tcvpel, 
air 7] re %}) £vvat[io$ ov/c aXv^eTov 

flOpOV KCLKLGTOV ' fCdl yap OVV KeiVTjV Xcov 

fhraiTub/uu TovBe fiovXevcaL tcl^ov. 490 

Kai viv rcaXetT ■ ecco yap elBov apricot 

Xva-crojcav avrrjv, oud* em] t 3o\ov cppevojv. 
cfriXel B' 6 3-v[ib$ 7rp6oS-€v fjprjG^-aL Kkoirevs 

toov [irjBev opS-co^ 6V CKOT(p Te^VCOfjieVOJV, 

fiLQ-oj ye fievroc yoiTav iv KaKolai ti$ 495 

akoi)$ } errecra tovto KaXXvveiv S-eXy. 

AXTirONH. 

3-eXei? tl fieigop, f] tcaTaKTelvai fi eXcov ; 

KPEr.x. 
iyco fiev ovBev ' tovt e)(oov, cirravT e)(co, 

AXTirOXH. 

tl Brjra /xeXXeL? ; &)? i/iol tojv crcov Xoycov 

dpecTov ovBev, fJLTjfi apeaSeirj rrori ■ 500 

ovrco Be Kai col Tcl/JL cupavBdvovT ecf>v^ 

tcaiTOL TroS-ev fcXeo? y av evKXeecTepov 

Kajec-yov, fj tov avTaBeXcfrov iv Tcicfxp 

TiS-elca ; tovtols tovto ttclclv avBdveiv 

XeyocT av, el fir) yXoiacav eyxXelcoL (fiofio?. 505 

dXX' 7) tv pawl? TroWd r aXX' evBatfiovel, 

tca^ecTLv ai)Tfj Bpav Xeyeiv SP a fiovXeTai. 

KPEr.x, 
av tovto fiovvq ToovBe KaBfielcov 6pa$. 

AXTirOXH. 
OpcOCL ^OVTOL ' Col K VTTetkoVCL CTOfia. 

KPEr.X, 

av S' ovtc eTratBel, TcovBe %wpi? e ' L fypwth ; 510 



96 20*0KAE0T2 

ANTirONH. 
ovSev yap alayjpbv tovs o/xoaTrXdy^vov^ aefieiv. 

KPEHN. 

ovkovv o/JLaifjLO$ yoo kcltclvtlov S-avcbv ; 

ANTirONH. 

ofxaLfJio^ itc fjua? re teal tclvtov irarpos* 

KPEHN. 

ttoo? Brjr ifceivp Sv<;ae^7] ti/jl3,s %dpw ; 

ANTirONH. 

515 oif [xaprvprjcreL ravS? 6 tcar&avcbv vifcv$. 

KPEHN. 

el rot afa Tifias i% tcrov r<p Svs&eftei. 

ANTirONH. 

ov yap tl SovXos, dXX* d8eX(j)b<z coiXero. 

KPEHN. 

rropQcov Se TijvSe yr/v, 6 S' avrccrra^ virep. 

ANTirONH. 

o/jLcds o y "AlSt)? tov<$ vofjiovs icrovs TroS-ec. 

KPEHN. 

520 dXX* ov^ o yjpy]GTo<$ tg3 icaic& Xa^ecv 1lcto$. 

ANTirONH. 

ti<$ olSev, el tcdrcoQev evayrj rdSe ; 

KPEHN. 

ovtol tto$ ov%$pbs, ouS' oTav Qavrj, (f>C\o<;. 

ANTirONH. 

ovtol avvky&eiv, dXXa crv^CXelv ecfyvv* 



antitonh. 97 

KPEHN. 
Karoo vvv eX&ovcr, el (fuXrjreov, (f>iXec 
/ceivovs ■ ifiov Se ±covro<z ovk dp^ei yvvii. 525 

XOP02. 
/cat ixrjv irpo irvkoiv 7]$* 'Icr/jLrjvr], 
<fii\d8e\cf)a Karoo Bd/cpv ei/3o/ievrj ■ 
vecjoeXrj 8' ofypvoov virep al/iaroev 
peS-os alcryyvei, 
reyyova evooira irapetdv. 530 

KPEHN. 

ay S\ rj tear otfcovs, co? e^iBv, vfyeifievrj 

Xrj&ovad p? e^eirtve?, ov8* ipidvS-avov 

rpecj>o)v Sv dra Kairavaardcreis 9-povcov, 

(f>ep\ elire Srj [ioi, /cat crv rovSe rod rdefrov 

cf)rj(7ei<z pberacr^elv, i) '^opbel ro purj elhevat ; 535 

I2MHNH. 

BeSpafca rovpyov, eiirep r/8' opLOppoS-et, 
zeal ^v/jl/jl€TL(t^co teal (fiepco rrj? atria?. 

ANTirONH. 

aW ovk eacret tovto y 11 bucr] a , eirei 
ovr rjS-ikrjcras, ovr iyob '/coLvcoo-dpLrjv. 

E2MHNH. 

dXX! ev tea/cols rot? cfoIglv ovk ala^vvopbai 540 

^vpurfKovv i/iavrrjv rod rrd&ovs 7rocovpLevrj. 

ANTirONH, 

&v rovpyov "AlStjs yol Karoo ^vvicrrope? • 
\6yois 8' eya> fyCkovaav ov arepyco (frtXrjv. 

HMHNH. 

pbTjroty KacnyvTJrr], /x' ari\idar\? rb pbr) ov 
Qavelv re avv <rol, rbv 3-avovra 3-' dyvlcrac. 545 

5 



98 20$OKAEOY2 

ANTirONH. 

firj fjbOL Bdvys gv KOiva, jult]8' a pLrj ',!kye9 
iroiov GeavTrjs. dp/ceaco &vr)Gtcov<r iyco. 

I2MHNH. 

koX tis /3lo<$ jjuol gov XeXeipi/JLevr) <£/\o9 ; 

ANTirONH. 

Kpeovr ipcbra. rovBe yap gv /crjBefJLcov. 

I2MHNH. 
550 TL TCLVT OVia% Jjl\ OvBeV GD(j)6\0V/J,iv7) ; 

ANTirONH. 

dXyovaa /lev Brjr, el yekcor ev goI ye\(S. 

HMHNH. 

tl or]T av ahka vvv g er cocpeXoipb eyco ; 

ANTirONH. 

gcogov aeavrrjv. ov (jjS^ovco g viretcfyvyeZv. 

HMHNH. 

« 

oX\ioi Takaiva, KapufKaKco rod gov puopov ; 

ANTirONH. 

555 gv piev yap eikov %f)v, iyco Be Kar&avelv. 

HMHNH. 

dX)C ovk eV dpprjTOLS ye tols i/ioc? Xoyocs, 

ANTirONH. 

KokG)? gv puev tois, tols S' iyco *B6kovv cppovecv. 

I2MHNH. 

/col pur]V lgt] vcov eGTiv rj 'tja/jLaprla. 






AXTITONH. 99 

ANTirONH. 

S-dpcet. av /xev £379, ?) §' ifirj ^rvx}l ^rdXai 
reS-vrj/cev, W9T6 rok S-avovaiv axpeXecv. 560 

EPEfiN. 

rcb 7ral8i (f)7]/ju rcoBe ttjv [lev apricot 

avow 7r€<fidv$aL, ri]V S' dcp ov ret irpoor e<f>v. 

L2MHNH. 

ov yap 7tot\ 8>va% 3 ovB' o? av (3\darr] /xivet 
vovs to?9 /ca/ccbs irpdaaovacv, dX?C i^tararac. 

KPEQN. 

crol yovv, o& eiXov aijv Ka/coU rrpdaaeiv tcatcd. 565 

HMHXH. 

tl yap fiovT) floe T7JS& arep ^idxTtjiov ; 

KPEQN. 

aA/V " i)be /jbevrot [it] f^ey • of 7ap ear er^. 

ESMHNH. 

a\\i KTevel? vv/JLcfiela rod aavrov rexvov ; 

KPESN. 

dpcocn/jLOL yap ^arepcov elalv yvac. 

I2MHNH. 

ou;^ 009 7' i/celvcp njSe r rjv ^pfioafiha, 570 

KPESN, 

Kaicas iyco yvvaiicas vleac arvyco. 

AXTirOXH. 

3) (f)t\raS A'l/jLcdv, oj? cr ari^d^ei irajiqp ! 

KPEr.N. 

dyav ye \v7rei$ teal ai) tcai to gov ^e%o?. 



100 20<*>0KAE0T2 

XOP02. 
rj yap areprjcrei^ rfjsSe top cravrov yovov ; 

KPEHN. 

575 "Aihrjs 6 iravacov tov<;8s tovs ydfjuovs ecjzv. 

XOP02. 

SeSoy/jLev*, o>9 eoctce, rtfvSe /carQavelv, 

KPEftN. 

/cal col ye Ka[ioL fir] rpiftds er, aXXa viv 
/co/jil^er etaco, SjJLcoes • efc he rovhe %pr) 
yvval/cas elvat rdshe, fjurjh' dvet/jievas. 
580 (frevy overt, yap tol ypl S-pacreL?, orav iriXa? 
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XOP02. 

• 2 t po(pr] a. 

EvSal/jLove? dial /catcchv dyevcrro^ alcov. 

oh yap av aeicr&f) QeoQev hofios, ara$ 
585 ovhev e\\ei7re(, yeveas errl 7r\rjQo$ epirov ■ 

ojxolov cocrre itovtiov 

olh/jua, hvsirvoois orav 

QprjcraaLcnv epeftos v(pa\ov eirthpajXTj Trvoals, 
590 KvXivheu fivcrcro&ev icekaivav §lva koX Svsave/iov, 

gtovm ftpeyLOvenv dvTiirXr\ye<$ d/craL 

*Avr tcrr po (p)) a, 

593 ap^ata ra Aafihaiahav ol/ccqv opcofiai 
595 7T7]/jLara <\>&ltq)v eirl irrj^acn ttitttovt, 

ov8* diraXkdcrcrec yeveav yevos, AV epetTrei 

3-eayp tl<z, ovh' eyei Xvcrcv. 

vvv yap eaydra^ virep 
600 pl£a$ ereraro (f)do$ ev Olhlirov So/mols. 

/car av viv <§>oivia &e&v rcov vepreprov dfia kovis, 

\6yov r dvoia koX cfrpeveov iptvvs. 



ANTITONH. 101 

^rpo<p7] 0. 

reap, Zed, hvvacriv rfc dvSpcov V7rep/3acna Karaaxpi, 

tclv ovS? virvos alpel ttq& 6 7ravToyi]pco<z 

ovt€ &ecov d/cfjiaroo 

lirjves, aytfpco? Se %pov(£> hvvaaras 

Kare^et^ 'OXvfJbirov 

fiapfjbapoeaaav diykav • 610 

to t eirecra teal to /liWov 

koi to irplv eirapiceaeL 

v6/jL0$ o$* • ovSev epirei 

SvaTCOV (3 LOT (p Trd/JLTToXi^ € /£ T 9 a t a 9. 

'Aj/t ktt po(pj] /3'. 

a yap Srj iroXvifkayKTOS e\7rl? ttoWoU f^ev ovrjen? 
avSpcov, 615 

7roWols S' airaTa Kovcjyovocov ipcoTcov ' 

5£ f £5 5<>\ r/ 

etooTt o ovoev epiret, 

Ttpiv irvpl S-epfiS iroha tl<z Trpo^avarj, 620 

crocfria yap etc tov 

fcXetvbv 67T09 irefyavTat, 

"to fea/ebv So tcelv it ot iaS-Xbv 

t c3 S' e fjifJLev ot o) <£> pevas 

rC/eo9 ay 6 l it p o 9 aT av. 

Trpdcraei K oXoyoaTov yjpbvov e/cro9 ara9. 625 

oSe fxrjv AIl/acdv, iratBcov twv acop 
vkaTov yivvrjfjb • ap dyyviievo^ 
t% {JbeWoyd/jLov 
toXlSos ij/cet fiopov 'AvTcy6vr]<; 9 
diraTas Xe^ecov virepaXycov ; 

KEEHN. 

Td% elcro/jLGcrQa fidvTecDv virepTepov. 
a> ttoi, TeXeiav ^rrje^ov apa juLi] k\vcov 



102 20$0KAE0T2 

T/79 fieWovvfjL(f)ov ircLTpl Xvaaalvcov irdpet ; 
r) aol fiev ?;/xeZ? iravra^rj Spcbvres (ptXot ; 

AIMHN. 

635 rrdrep, (709 elfit • kcl\ av jjloi yvco/Jias e^cov 
Xprjaras, tnrop&ols, al? eycoy icfre-^rofiat. 
ifjioi yap ovoels a^lcos ecrrac ydjJLO? 
jjlei^cdv (j)€pecr$aL gov /caXoos rjyov/jbivov. 

KPEHN. 

ovrco yap, co iral, yjpr) ota arepvcov eyew, 
640 yvcbfjL7i<z TrcLTpcpas *iravr oirLG&ev eardvai. 
tovtov yap ovve/c avSpes evyovTai yovas 
/carrj/CGOVs c^vaavre^ iv 86/jlols e^ecv, 
C09 teal tov ejftpov avra/jajvcovrac /ca/cols, 
/cat tov (f)lXov Tifioyatv it; Xcrov irarpL 
645 09x^9 K av(D$e\rjTa (f)LTV6L ritcva, 

rl rovS* av elirois aXXo irXrjv avrS irbvovs 
cj)V(raL, iroXvv Se toIctlv i^polatv yiXcov ; 

[Jirj VVV 7T0T, CO 7TOI, T&9 (f>p£vaS VCJ) TjSovfjS 

yvvaiicbs ovverc ifcfidXys, elScbs on 
650 tyvxpbv irapayKaKicryba tovto y ly verai, 
yvvrj /ca/cr) %vvevvo<; iv S6/jLol$. tl yap 
yevoir av eX/^09 pel^ov rj cf)lXo<z /ca/co<z ; 
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rrjv iralK iv r/ AtSov rr)vhe vv/jufavetv TtvL 
655 eVel yap aurrjv etXov i/jicfiavws iya> 

7roXeco9 dnricrTrjaaaav itc irdcrrjs /jlovtjv, 
tyevSr) y i[xavrov ov /caracmjcrco iroXei, 

dXXd /CT6VCO. 7T/)09 TaVT €(J)V/jLV€LTCD A [a 

^vvaijJiov. el yap Srj rd y iyyevrj cj)va-ec 
660 a/cocr/jia Qpetycd, tcdpra tovs e^co yevovs. 
iv rots yap ol/celoLo-LV 09T£9 ear dvrjp 
%p7]GT05, tyavelrai /cdv iroXei Si/cato? tov. 
09^9 S' virepBds rj vojjlovs ft Lateral, 



ANTITONH. 103 

r) TOviriTaaaeiv tol? Kparovcriv ivvoec, 

ovrc ear eiraivov tovtov it; e/iov rvyetv. 665 

aX)C bv 7ro?U? arrjcreie, rovSe %pr] Kkveiv, 

icaX crfAiKpa teal Sifcaca, teal ravavrta, 

koX tovtov av tov avSpa 3-apaoirjv iyeb 

fcaXoos jxev apyeiv, ev S' av ap^ead-ac 3-eXetv, 

Sopos t av ev %€l/jLcovl irposTeTayfJbevov 670 

fieveiv Btfcacov /cdyaS-bv TrapaaT&Trjv. 

avap^Las Be fiel^ov ovk eaTiv /caicov. 

avTTj iroXeis t oXkvacv, ^o dvaaTaTOVS 

ockovs TiS-rjatv ■ r)Se avv ftaxV S°j°o? 

Tpoiras /caTapprjyvvac ■ tcov S' opS-ov/jbevcov 675 

ccp^eu tcl TroXka aco/iaS* r) irei^apyjia, 

ovtcos a/jLWTe eVrl toi<? /coa/jLov/jLevoLS, 

kovtoi yvvai/ebs ovhafio)? r)aar]Tea. 

tcpelcrcrov yap, eiwep Sec, 777309 av$pb$ etcireaelv, 

kovk av yvvaofccbv ijaaoves tcaXoi/jbeS-' av. 680 

XOP02. 

r)\uv fiev, el fir] t& XP® V( 9 fC€K\efjLfieS-a } 
Xeyecv cfrpovovvTcos &v Xeyecs Sofceis irepi. 

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iravTCDV 6a ecrrl xprj/iaTcov virepTaTOV. 

eyeb S' 07T<u? av fir) Xeyeis opQcbs TaSe, 685 

ovt av 8vvai/jL7)v, /jlt/T eiriaTaifLr\v \eyeiv ■ 

yevoLTO fievTav yuTepcp /caXoos eypv. 

av S' ov 7re(f)Vfca$ irdvTa irposKoirelv oaa 

\eyec tc$, r) irpaaaei rt?, r) tyeyecv eyei>* 

to yap abv ofifia Secvbv dvSpl Btj/jLott] 690 

\6yoi$ tolovtols, oh av fir) Tepyjret kXvcov ■ 

e/jiOL o a/covecv ea# viro atcoTOV Taoe, 

Tr\v iralSa tovtov oV oSvpeTat ttoKls, 



104: 20$0KAE0r2 

iraercov yvvaiKcov o>9 ava^tcordrTj 
695 KCLfCiar air epycov ev/cXeeardrcov (privet ■ 

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TT eiTTCOT ClQaiTTOV fjLljS* V IT CO fJL 7) C7 T CO V KVVCOV 
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700 roiciS* epefjivrj erly eirepyerrai (parts. 

ifjiol 8e erov irpdererovTos evTv^cos, irdrep, 
ov/c earcv ovBev Krij/ia Ti/Mcbrepov. 
rl yap irarpos QdXXovTOs ev/cXelas renvois 
ayaXfia fiel^ov, r) rl 777309 iralhcov nrarpl ; 

705 fJirj vvv ev r)Qo$ /jlovvov iv eravTco cfiopei,, 

o>9 <£$9 erv, fcovBev aXXo, tovt opScos eyew. 
09T^9 yap avTo<z r) cppovecv /jlovos 80/cel, 
r) yXcocrerav, r)v ov/c aXXos, i) ->Sfvyj)v ej(eiv y 
ovtol §La7TTV)(&evT€5 cocfiS-rjerav KevoL 

710 dXX! avSpa, Kel tls y erocfibs, to [lav^dvetv 
ttoXX' alayjpbv ovSev, koX to fir) Telveiv ayav. 
opas irapd pel&poierL yeijidppois oaa 
SevSpcov vireLKei, fcXcova? cos ifcercp^eTat ■ 
tcl S* dvTLTeivovT avTOTrpejiv a7ToXXvTat. 

715 avTcos Se vabs 097^9 iy/cpaTr) TroSa 
Teivas vireltcei /ir/Sev, vtttlois tcaTco 
cjTptyas to Xolttov aeXjiaacv vavTiXXeTat. 
dXX' elice Sv/jlov /cal fieTaaTacnv BISov. 
yvco/jLTj yap el tls Kair ifAov vecoTepov 

720 irpo^eaTL, <prjp? eycoye irpeerfteveiv ttoXv 
cpvvac tov avSpa rrdvT eiricTTr]fir\s irXecov • 
el 8' ovv, cptXel yap tovto fjurj TavTrj peireiv, 
Kal tcov XeyovTcov ev KaXov to iiav&dvew. 

xopox 

aval;, ere r elfcbs, el ti icalpiov Xeyec, 
725 fia&elv, ere r av tovS* • ev yap elpr\Tai BtirXf). 



AXTITONH. 105 



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ol TrjXitcoihe /cat SiSa^o/ieoS-a 8?) 
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ov top %popop %py) jiaXKov rj Tapya cncoTrelp. 

KPEGN. 

epyop yap ecrTC tovs a/cocr/jLovpTas ae,8ecp ; 730 

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KPEGN. 

°vX V^ € y^P T0L 4^ eireikrjTTTai poccp ; 

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KPEGN. 

ttoXis yap r) [up a fie *xpr\ Tacr creep epel ; 

AIMGN. 

6 pas toS* co? e'lprjtcas co? ayav peos ; 735 

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7T0/U? 7<zp ou/c ecv> ?;t£? apepos eo-$ epos* 

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6'S , co? ecu/ce, t?} yvvaud crv/ji/xa^et 7i0 



106 20$0KAE0Y2 

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ft) 7ray/cd/a(TT€ 3 Sta Sl/ctjs Icov irarpi ; 

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ou yap Sl/caid a i^a/iaprdvovS^ 6pS). 

KPEHN. 

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AIMHN. 

745 ov yap creftecs, rc/ids ye ra? $ecov Trarwv. 

KPEHN. 

c5 fuapbv 97^09 Am yvvai/cbs vcrrepov. 

AIMnN. 

owe aV S' eA,o£9 rjcrcrco ye tcov ala^pcov i/ie. 

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6 70i5z> \0709 crot ?ra9 V7rep /celvrjs oSe. 

AIMXiN. 
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KPEHN. 

750 ravTTjv hot ov/c ea& a>9 ere ^coaav yafiel<$* 

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r/S' ovv Savelrat, /cal Qavova o\el nvd. 

KPEHN. 

rj KairaTceCk&v coS' eire^ep^et Qpacrvs ; 

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7-/9 S' ?(7T direCkr] 7rpo9 /cem9 yvcofxa^ Xeyetv ; 

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tckalcov (ppevcoaeis, cov (frpevwv avrbs fcevos. 



ANTITONH. 107 

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el (jlt) Trarrjp rjoS-\ elirov av a ov/c ev cfrpovecv, 755 

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yvvacfcbs cov SovXevj^a, fxrj /ccoriXXe fie. 

AIMHN. 

fiovXet, Xeyetv re, teal Xeycov fjcrjSev /cXvetv ; 

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a\7]&e$ ; cOOC ov, tovK "OXvjjlttov, lctS? ore, 
%alpcov eiri tybyoiai Sevvdcreis €/jlL 
ay ere to [Mao*;, C09 kclt o/Jb/xar avTi/ca 760 

irapovrt Qvrjcncri rrS/qcria tg> vvjjL<fil(p. 

AIMnN. 

ov BrJT e/juocye, tovto firj So £779 irore, 

ov$ t^S' oXelrai irXiqcria, av r ovSa/jia 

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vovs S' earl ttjXucovtos aXyrjaa? fiapvs. 

KPEGN. 

Spdrco, (j)poveira) fiel^ov fj /car avip loov • 
ra S' ovv Kopa tclK ovk airaXkagei [Aopov. 

XOP02. 

a/JL(fxo yap avra koX fcara/crewac voels ; 770 

KPEHN. 

ov ttjv ye [ir] Qcyovaav. ev yap ovv \eyec$. 

X0P02. 

fibpeo Se Troup icai acfre fiovXevet fcravetv ; 



10S 20$0KAE0T2 



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dycov epTjfjLOS evS* av fj fiporwv ariflos, 
Kpvyjrco it er pooh et ^cocrav ev Karcopv^t, 

775 <fiop/3r)s roaovrov, o>? a'70?, iiovov irpoSek, 
oVa)? fjLLacrfjLa iracr vTreictyvyrj 7roXi<z. 
/cdtcel top r/ Aihrjv, bv [xovov ae/3et Qetbv, 
alrovfjuevri ttov rev^erat to fir) Qavelv, 
rj ypclxreTCLL yovv ak\a TrfVLfcavS?, on 

780 irovos irepLCFGos eart rdv "AiSov aefietv. 

XOPOS. 

~2t p o (p'f) . 

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"Epoos, o? ev fcrrjiiacri, iriiTTei^, 

o? t ev [MikcucaLs Trapeials vedviSo? evvvyeveis • 
785 cfioiras S' vTrepirovTio? ev r dypovofiois av\cu$, 

teal cr our dS-avdrcov (fiv^LfjLO? ovSels 
790 ov& d/jueplcov eir dv&pcoircov, 6 8' e^cov fiefi7\vev. 

3 Aur i cr r p o (fyfj . 

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795 vtfcci S' evapyr)$ fiXecfidpcov ifiepo? evkeicrpov 

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vvv b 7)07} yco icavTos r^eaiicov 
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ANTITONH. 109 

ANTirONH. 

2 r pocp)] a. 

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ayei 810 

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d/crdv, ov& v/jievaicov 

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vfjLV7](T€v, aXX? 'AyepovTL vvfM^evcra), 

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ovre §&ivdcriv if\7]yelaa vbaoi^ 

ovre %i(j)icDV eiru'xeipa \a%ova, 820 

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Qvcltcov 'AtSav fcarafajcreL. 

ANTirONH. 
"Apt ktt po<p)] a'. 
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tclv Qpvyiav %evav 824 

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irerpaia jSXdaTa Sd/jcao-ev, teal viv o/nftpoi, ra/cofievav, 
co? <j)dTL$ dvSpcov, 

yi&v r ovSajxd Xelirei, 830 

riyyec S' vif 6cf>pv(TC TrayfcXavrois SecpdSa? ■ a jxe 
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rjfJbeis Se fiporol ical &vr]Toyev€t<;. 835 



HO 20$0KAE0T2 

/caiTOL fySifJievu) tols lao&eois 
ey/ckrjpa, Xa^ecv fiey a/covo-cu. 

ANTirONH. 

2 T p <p)] ft. 

olfjioi yekcofJiciL. ri fie, irphs Seoov irarpcpoyv, 
840 ovk oWv/JLevav vfiptfas, 

aX)C eirlfyavTov ; 

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845 evapfjidrov aXaos, eybiras 

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7rpo9 ep/JLa rv/jL/So^coarov ep^o/xac rdcf>ov iroTaiviov * 
850 loo hvaravos, 

OVT iv j3pOTOL<$ OVT iv V6/CpOL(TCV 

fieroiKos, ov ^6!)cnv, ov Qavovatv. 

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855 Trposeirecres, & t&kvov, tto\v 

irarpcoov 8' ifcrivecs tlv a3\ov. 

ANTirONH. 
'Apt i<tt po(p % ft. 
etyavcras dXyeLvordras i/xol fieplfivas 

TTCLTpOS TpLTToXtCTTOV olfCTOV, 

rod re irpoiravTOS 
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100 fiarptocu Xe/crpcov cctcll 
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ANTITONH. HI 

i/jL(p Trarpl Sv^/xopcp [larpo^, 865 

oicov eyco 7TOr9-' a ra\ac(f)pcov ecpvv ' 

7T/509 0&9 dpalos, aya/jios, at? iyco fizTOLKO? epypfiai. 

la> Svsttot/jLcdv 

KacruyvrjTe yd/icov KvprjGas, 870 

S-avcbv er ovcrav fcarrjvaph fie. 

X0P02. 

crefietv fiev evcrkfieid T£9. 

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7rapa/3arbv ovSa/jifj irekec • 

ere S' avroyvcDTOs coKecr bpyd. 875 

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atcXavTOS, afyikos, dvv/jievaios 
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ovtcen /jlol roSe Xa/jardSos lepbv o/jL/xa &£/jus opav 
TcCKaiva, 880 

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ap 'terr, docSa? kcuI yoovs irpo rod Qavetv 

&>9 ovS* av eh iraveraiT av, el XP € ^V 'Xeyew > 

ovk a^eS-' &>9 Ta^icTTa, /cat tcarripefyel 885 

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acjtere /jlovtjv eprj[jbov 3 elre ^pfj 3-avecv, 

etr ev TOLavrr) %coera Tvybfteveiv erreyrj • 

spiels yap dyvol tovttX rrjvhe rrjv /eoprjv ■ 

fjueroiKLas S' ovv rrj<; avco errepijcrerac. 890 

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(plXrj puev r)%eiv irarpl, TrposcfiLXrjs Be <tol, 
jJLTjrep, (f)iXrj Be aoi, /caaiyvrjrov /cdpa • 

900 iirel Qavovras avToyeip vpbas eyoo 
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920 %oocr els Bavovrcov epypp,ai /caracr/cacfrds • 
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ANTITONH. 113 

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tyvxfjS piiral TijvSe y e^ovcnv. 930 

KPEHN. 

rotyap tovtcov rolatv dyovaiv 
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ANTirONH. 
o'i/jLOl, QaVCLTOV TOVT £yy VT&TCD 
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980 kXcLLOV, [ACLTpOS €XpVT€$ aVVflfavTOV yOVaV * 

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118 20$0KAE0T2 

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1080 i^Qpal he iracrab crvvrapdacrovTab iroXeis 
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1085 dcprjxa S-v/jlco Kaphias ro^ey/iara 

fiefiaia, tcov gv QdXiros ov% V7refchpafieu 
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ANTITONH. H9 

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top vovv t d/ietvco r&v cfrpevwv, rj vvv fyipei. 1090 

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evftovkia? Sel, iral MevoL/cecos Kpeov. 

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ri Srjra ^prj Spav ; (j)pd£e ■ ireicroiiai 8' iyco. 

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/ou tout i*]raiveis teal So/ee?? irapeitcaQelv ; 

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rrjv fJiev /cpefiacrrrjv avykvos /careiBofiev, 

/3p6^cp furdoSet crivBovos tcaS-rj/jLfAevrjv, 

rbv 8' dfjb(j)l i^ecrarj ireptirerrj irposfceifjbevov, 

euv?i$ d7roLfico^ovra t?]S fedrco cj)3-opdv 

/cal irarpbs epya teal to Bvctttjvov Xe^o?. 1225 

8' o>? opa crefze, crrvyvbv olfAco^as ecrco 

%a>pel 7T/509 avrbv fcdvafccDfcvcras fcaXec, 

" S) tXtj/aov, olov epyov elpyacrai ; rtva^ 

vovv ecryes ; iv to3 ^v/Mfiopd? Bcecf)3-dpr]<z ; 

egeX&e, reK.vov, Ifcicrios ere Xtcrcro/jLaL" 1230 



124 20$0KAE0T2 

top h ay plots oacroiGi TraTrrrjvas 6 irals, 
TTTvaras irposdoirw Kovhev avreLircbv, £/<£ou? 

€\K€L hilfkoVS KVCtihoVTCLS • e/c 3' OpfJLCOjJbeVOV 

irarpos (pvyalcrcv 7]/ji7r\aK ■ eZr9-' 6 hvs/Jbopos 
1235 aura ^o\tt#a9, co^irep eZ^\ eTrevraQels 

' rjpeicre ifkevpals /bieacrov eyx°S> €9 8' vypbv 
dy/ccov er e^pcov 7rap3-ivq) irposirTvaaerai ' 
/cal (frvcncbv o^elav e/c/SdWet Trvorjv 
Xev/cfj irapeia fyoiviov araXdyfiaro^. 
1240 /cetrac he ve/cpb? irepl ve/cp£>, rd vv/JL(f>i/cd 
reXrj \a%cov helXaio? elv r/ Athov 86/jlols, 
hei^as ev dv&pdoTroicrL rrjv d(3ov\iav 
ocrcp [leyicrTOV dvhpl irpb^KeiTai /ca/cov. 

XOPOX 

tl tovt dv elicacreias ; rj yvvrj iraKiv 
1245 (j>povhr], Trplv elirelv icrS-Xbv rj icaicbv Xoyov. 

aiteaos. 
tcavrbs Te3-dfi/3r}/c • eXirtcriv he /36or/cofjLcu, 
ayr) re/cvov ickvovcrav e? ttoXlv yoovs 
ov/c afycocreLV, dW vtto areyrjs ecrco 
h/jLoocus 7rpo3-ijaetv Trev&os oltcelov arevetv. 
1250 yvd)fjLr)<; yap ov/c aireipos, toaSt d/jiaprdvecv. 

XOP02. 

ov/c olo • e/jLOL o ovv rj r ayav cnyrj papv 
ho/cet irpo^elvai ^rj jjbdrr]v iroWr) /3orj. 

AITEA03. 

dX\? elcro/jLecrS-a, fjbrj tl /cal /carda^erov 
/cpvcpr) /caXvirrei icaphiq S^v/iov/ievr), 
1255 ho/jLov? irapacFTeiyovTes. ev yap ovv Xeyets. 
/cal rrjs ayav ydp earl itov aiyrjs ftdpos. 

XOPOS. 

\ \ C/^3 »/ C* 3 \ 3 t / 

Kai firjv oo aval; avros ecprj/cei 
fjLvrjfj? eirlcr^iiov hid % el P^ ^X (OV ' 



antitonh. 125 

el QejuLLs elirelv, ovk aXkorplav 

drrjv, dXX? aires a/maprcov. 1260 

KPEHN. 
2 r p o (p 7] a. 

'Icb (ppevcov hvsfypovoov d/iapT^/iaTa 

are pea Qavaroevr . 

ay KTavovras re fcal 

Savovras /SXeTrovTes e/KpvXtovs. 

co/io t i/icov dvo\/3a /SovXev/jtaToov. 1265 

lob TToly veos vecp %vv fiopcp, 

alal alal, 

eQaves, aTreXv&rjs, 

i fiats ovSe crater t 8vsf3ov\iats. 

X0P02. 

oi/JL &>? eottcas 6^6 ty\v Sttcrjv ISetv. 1270 

KPEHN, 

St p o (p 7] $ . 
o'tflOt, 

eyu> fiaQcov SetXatos ■ ev S' e/iw tedpq, 

3-ebs tot dpa tgt€ fieya ftdpos [i €%ojv 

eiratcrev, ev S' ecretcrev ay plats 68ots, 

ocfJLOL \aKiraTr\TOv dvTpeiroJv yapdv, 1275 

(j)€V (j)€V, 0) ITOVOt ftpOTCOV SvSTTOVOt. 

eeaiteaois. 

S) Sia7ro9-\ oos eycov re tca\ /cefCTiyutevos, 

Ta /utev Trpo %etpa)v TaSe fyepoov, tcl 8* ev So/iots 

eottcas rjfcetv real Ta% oyjrecrS^at tca/ed, 1280 

, KPEHN. 

tl S' eaTtv av tcd/ctov, 1) tea/cebv ert ; 

EEAITEAOS. 

jvvr] TeS-vrjfce, TOvSe irapbiJtrjToop ve/cpov, 
Bvctttjvos, cipTt veoTo/Jbotcrt TrXrjy/jtao-tv. 



12G zosoKAEors 

KPEHN. 
'Ai'TJO'Tpo^'// a. 

ceo lcb SvsfcdS-apros rf Aihov XLfArjp, 
12S5 tl yu dpa tl /jl oXe/ceL? ; 

8) KaKayyeXrd fiot 

it poire /zi^a? dyj), riva S-poels Xoyop ; 

alai, oXcoXot avhp eTretjeLpydacD. 

tl cpys, S) iral, rlva XeyeL? \jlql peop, 
1290 alai alai, 

crcfrdyLOV eir oXeS-pco 

yvvatKelov dpb^Liceicr&aL /xopop ; 

XOP02. 

6 pap irdpeariv, ov yap ep fiv^ol^ en. 

KPEHN. 

'A V T L <T T p <p 7) ft '. 

ot/LLOL, 

1295 fcafcbv toS* aXXo Sevrepov /3Xs7rco TaXas. 
tk apa, rk /jls 7t6t/jlo^ eri irepLfiipeL ; 
ej/co fiev ev yeipecrcnv dprlco^ re/cvov, 
rdXas, top §' evavra Trpo^l3XeTT(D pe/cpop. 

1300 <f)£v (j>ev fjLctrep dS-Xta, cj^ev re/cpop. 

EHAITEAOS. 

7] 8 6£vQ7]fCTO$ ySe ficojJLia irept^ 
XveL iceXaipd /3Xe<fiapa, tccotcvaacra fjuep 
rod irplp 3-apopros Meyapeco? tcXeivov Xd%os, 
av9-L<; Se rovSe, XolctQlop Se crol /ca/cds 
1305 irpd%eL$ iifivfjiprjo-acra rco 7raiSoKTOP(p. 

KPEHN. 

Sr p o (j)7] y. 

aiai atat, 

dpeirrav <f)6j3(p. tl jll cvfc dpralap 

eiraicrev T£? dfjL<pL3-r}/cT(p ^Ifyeb ; 



ANTITOXH. 127 

SeiXaio? eyto, cpev (f)ev, 1310 

SeiXata Se crvyfcifcpa/JLCit Sva. 

EEAITEA02. 

co? alrlav ye rcovSe /cd/celvcop eyxov 

7Tpo? ri}? Savovcrr]? 77798' eTTeerfojiTTOV fiopcov. 

KPEGN. 

iroicp he fcairekvaaT ev cpoval? rpoirco ; 

EHAITEAOS. 

iralaacr vcfS rjirap avroyeip avr)]V, ottcd? 1315 

7ra^So? 7cS' fjoS-ST g^vkcoxvtov ttclS-os. 

KPEnN. 
2 r p o <pv 8'. 

oj/jlol fioi, raS' ou/e iir aXkov fiporcov 

i/ias dpfiocrec ttot i% alrlas. 

eyco yap a eyco exavov, a> /xekeo^, 

eyco, (pap? ervfjLOv. Ico rrposTroXoi, 1320 

dirdyere /jl otl rdy^o^, dyeri yH e/crroBcov, 

rbv ov/c ovtcl fiaXXov i) fjLrjSeva, 1325 

XOP02. 

/cepSi] 7rapacvsl$, el' tl KepSo? ev kclkoI? • 
/3pd)£L(rTa yap /cpdncrTa rdv irocriv tca/cd. 

KPEGN. 

'APTlG'TpOCp'Jl y. 

LTCD ITCd, 

(j>av7]Tco fiopcov o fcdXktar e/icov 1330 

ifiol Tepfxlav dycov dfiepav 

vTraros ■ itco Xtco, 

oVco? firj/cer d/iap a\V elslSco. 

XOP02. 
fiiXkovra ravra. tcov rrpoKeL\ievcov tl j(pr) 
irpdaaeiv. fiekei yap tcovS* otolctl yjp)-] \iekeiv. 1335 



128 20$0KAE0T2 

KPEHN. 
dW cov ipcb/jicUj tclvtcl crv<y/caT7]v^d/jL7]v. 

X0P02. 

firj vvv irpo^ev^ov [irjhev • &>9 7re7rpco/jLevrj<; 
ov/c ecrri &V7]tols crvfjufyopas diraWayr]. 

KPEriN. 

'A V T I & T p <p 7] 5'. 

ayoLT av /Jbdraiov avhp ifC7ro8cbv, 
1340 o?, S) iraly ere r ovy^ e/ccov Karetcavov, 

ere t at> tclvo . co/zo£ //,e\eo9, ofo e^a) 

oVa 7rpo9 irorepov lBco • irdvra yap 
1345 Xe^pta rdv ^epolv, rd S' eVl /cparl \ioi 

7TOT/X09 Sv$/c6fjLL(TTO<; eUrjXa/ro. 

XOP02. 
7T0\\(p TO (f)pOV6LP evBaifiovias 
Trpcorov vTTdpye.i ■ ^p?) Se ra 7' 669 Qeov$ 
1350 fjL7]Bev daeirrelv • fieyaXoc 8e \6yoL 
fjueydXa? ifkrjya^ tcov virepav^cov 
diroTicravTes 
yrjpaL to <j)pov£LV i8i$a%av* 



METRES OF THE LYRICAL PARTS. 



Parodo b. 

^Tpopi] a 100—109. 117—12o. 



■ V ^ v-x" ■ 

■ \_^ \^> \~s - 



J X_ 

x x 



^rpocpri /3' 134— 140. 140—154. 



' v_/ ^> \ 



First Stasimon. 

Srpo^T? a 332—342. 343—353. 



130 



METRES. 

^Tpo(pr] £' 354—334. 365— 375. 

— \_s v_> — v_v ^/ — ^>» "~~ — 

v_> — v_^ — — v_/ — 

<^_y \^ \_^ 

/ / / 

V^> — v_/ — v_y — w w — — 

Second Stasimon. 
Srpo(/)?? a 582—592, 593—603. 

v_/v_> — w w — -3 — \s 

/ v—/ _/_ 

<^» v_y v^>- v_> v>^ V-y- 

/ / ^-/ 

/_ _/_ 

/ / / V 

v^« v_/ V_> v_y v_^ v^- 

/ _/_ V_/ 

St/>o^ /8' 604—614. 615—625. 

/ 

- — \_y v_y — — v^/ \>_y — \^/ — — 

/ 

v_y V-/ W 

/ / 

\^> <^S V^/ V_y — ^ — - — 

v-^» \_^ — v_> 

/ 

<^_/ V_/ — v_/ 

/ 

v-/v->» — w — v_/ — ^3; 

/ \^> 

V_y W V_> 

.-^ _/_ ^_ 

- -*- v_^ v_/ v_y v«/ — v_/ . 

Third Stasimon. 
5Tpo<^ 781— 790. 791—800. 

_/__/_ 

v_> — ^_y v_^v-/ 



METRES. 131 



. \_y V_^ - 



Fourth Epeisodion. 
^rpocp)] a' 806—816. 823—833. 



Zrpo^ j3' 838—852. 857—871. 



- v_/ • v_> <^> ■ 

/ ( 

- v_^ v^> — v_>» 



!->• 



. -£. £. L. 



, J- v 



■ v_/ \_>> - 



Xop<fc 853—856. 872—875. 



, — , - _ y — . y_, — ^^ — 






/ w 



'EircpdSs 876—882. 



,-JL^^L 



132 



METRES. 



Fourth Stasimon. 
^rpocp'n a 944—954. 955—965. 

\_S v_^ — — v_/ v_^ — — 

/ / 

— — v_^ v^ — — v_y v_y — — — 

/ / / 

— \^ v_v v_y v^» — \^/ v_y — 



■ v_>» — \_^ ■ 



• v— / — v_-> ■ 



2rpo^ &'. 966—976. 9YV — 987. 



V» v^ ■ 



_ / 



■ \s — ^> ■ 



Fifth (Pseudo-) Stasimon. 
^rpo^rj a! 1115—1125. 1126—1136. 



v_>> v_>» — V 
/ 

\^ V->» - 

JL ^ X . 



METRES. 
^Tpocpr] 1137—1145. 11^6 — 1154. 



Exodos, 
2T P o<ph a' 1261—1269. 1234 — 1292 



' ^s^> v_^ ■ 



^rpo&o ff 1271—1277. 1294—1300. 



\~/ — v_^ ■ 



133 



•STpo-phV 1306—1311. 1323—1333. 



134 METRES. 

^rpo^ 8' 1317—1325. 1339—1347. 



■ V_> K^/ " 



■ v-> — w 



-£. -£. v , ^ 



N TBS. 



IOTES, 



The Argive besiegers had made their last assault upon Thebes. At 
six gates the Theban heroes had been victorious ; at the seventh the 
hostile brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, had met, and fallen by each 
other's hand. Creon, their uncle, who had succeeded to the command of 
the Theban troops, had chased his enemies from the country, and re- 
turned flushed with victory to the city, where he had issued a proclama- 
tion forbidding the burial of Polynices under pain of death. 

Early on the morning succeeding the flight of the Argives, our drama 
begins. In the open space before the royal palace Antigone meets her 
sister Ismene; in language betraying strong excitement she communi- 
cates to her the cruel decree, and asks her assistance in burying their un- 
fortunate brother. Antigone sees in this disgrace a continuation of those 
woes which had long pursued the doomed family of (Edipus. 

1. ^D. Koivbv avrddeXcpov . . . Oh, my own dear sister Ismene. A 
direct and tender appeal to the feeling of relationship, as if she could 
confidently count upon her sisterly affection for sympathy and coopera- 
tion in the present trial, as she had done in many before. — kqivov^ sprung 
from the same parents, and hence inheriting the same legacy of sorrows. 
Also in iEschylus, Sept. contra Thebas, 1031, Antigone is impelled by 
the same powerful motive to bury Polynices, declaring : 

Aeivbv to Koivov o-rXdyxvov, ov 7re$ vKau.ev, 
[XT]Tpb<s Ta\aCvr]<; Kanb Sucrr^vov Trarpo?— 

which Ahrens renders : Magnam habet vim communis sanguis unde pro- 
gnati sumus, matris miser ae atque infelicis patris. Cf. also iEsch., Eumen., 
89 : crv $' avToi^e\(pop cu/jlo, real koivov irarpos- — "Icfxriv^s Kapa = 'Ia^d}*/^, 
an expression of endearment, like the Homeric cpixr] KecpaXrj. Cf. v. 899. 



138 NOTES. 

2. ola-fr on. It is scarcely probable that on and brrotov were both 
intended to be indirect interrogatives in this sentence. The particle on 
is frequently used by the Attic writers with this verb (oT5 5 on, fcrfr' on, 
ola& otl), so nearly pleonastic that it does not affect the construction. 
Comp. 276, 758, and Demosth.,Phil., iii. : iravrwv eu ol& on (prjo-durcov 7' &v. 
Aristoph., Aves, 1246 : ap olo~& on Zeus e* jj.€ Av7rf)crei iripa. — rcou air 3 
Old. kclkccv. The gen. depends upon o-koIov. She means the calamities 
of which (Edipus was, directly or indirectly, the author. Cf. v. 49 ff. It 
may be rendered : Know' si thou what sort of evils Jupiter is not visiting 
upon us tico during our lives ? intimating that scarcely any evil could be 
thought of which they had not already experienced. — brrolov, any kind — 
which. Cf. 1156. The verb TeAetV conveys the idea of bringing a work 
to completion. 

3. vyv in (wccllv may be either gen. or dat. ; the latter is perhaps to 
be preferred, since it is evident from the connection that Antigone speaks 
of the evils that had befallen the family, particularly as affecting herself 
and her sister. 

4. In a negative sentence ovre — ovre are commonly equivalent to r] — r\, 
either — or. — arris arep. This is the ancient reading, authenticated by the 
best MSS., but the words have been a stumbling-block to the critics from 
Didymus to the present time. The art] is a baleful, seducing spirit of 
mischief, engendered by guilt, luring to crime, and punishing with mis- 
fortune. The connection requires this sense : for there is nothing either 
distressing, or unfortunate (i. e., not unconnected with the family ill-for- 
tune), or shameful, or dishonorable, that I have not seen in your and my 
evils. Ullrich says ovdlv 'arris 'arep is equivalent to arrjpSu, which is ap- 
proved by Hartung, who amends the line arr\p6v o>5\ Boeckh denies 
that any emendation is necessary, and interprets a\r\s arep as a parenthe- 
sis, des Unheils nicht zu gedenken, apart from the calamity, or family curse. 
But why Antigone should exclude the &rr\, which, in the economy of the 
play, is the source of all their miseries, it is not easy to understand, Be- 
sides, the particle yap serves to specify the very evils entailed by (Edipus 
upon his children. It is evident that Sophocles thinks there is such an 
a\r\ in the family of (Edipus, by which one generation after another is in- 
volved in misfortune. Compare 596, 622 ff. Of the two classes of ills 
mentioned in this passage, the painful and the shameful, the former 
alludes to her mother's suicide, her father's self-blinding, downfall, exile, 
and sufferings from want until his wretched end ; the latter, to the incest- 
uous union of her parents, the treason of Polynices, and the unnatural 
feud of her brothers, which ended in their death. Comp. (Ed. Hex. 
1284 : 

aTevayiAos, arrj, Qavaros, ala-xvvr], kclkuv 
oct ear! navTiov ovd/uar', ovdiv €0~t anov* 



NOTES. 139 

6. naK&v is a partitive gen. depending on 6tto7ov. Matthiae, Gr., § 
321. Comp. (Ed. Col., 694. — The negative ovk is not grammatically ne- 
cessary, and must be taken as a ihetorical repetition. Such a strength- 
ened negation is not unusual: comp. Elect., 1238, ^Esch., Agam., 1634. 
Hartung rejects ov in v. 5, and substitutes oy, which he deems necessary 
for the government of kokSov. 

7. iravdrjuy -rroKei. The entire population of the city. The Scholiast : 
iracrri tt\ ttoKel, including ourselves. 

8. (TTparriybu. Creon, who, after the death of Eteocles, became com- 
mander-in-chief of the army, but has not yet entered upon the kingly 
office. - 

9. e%6zy, cognitum hahes, nosti. Ita nonnunquam e%eiy usurpatur. 
Wunder. 

10. (piKo-Js. viz., Polynices. The pi. used poetically for the sing. The 
words t&v lyPpSiv are usually applied to Creon, now regarded as an 
enemy. But I prefer to interpret rcou in$p. kokol as signifying the evils 
usually inflicted on enemies, i. e., that their corpses are left unburied. 
So Erfurdt : mala quae hostis ab hoste perpeti solet (msepultuni feris 
objici). 

11. uvbos, tidings, as in (Ed. Col., 357, with gen. See Matth.,341. — 
'XvTiyovri is an anapest, which the older tragedy permitted in the fifth 
foot, but only in proper names. Cf. 198. 

14. havovroiv. For the agreement of a pi. participle or verb with a 
dual sub St., see Kiihner's Gr., 241. — 0L7r\f) x E p' l i ty a double stroke, by each 
other's hand. Schol. : r?j utt' fctodiKav. Boeckh remarks that there is a 
sort of wit in anguish in the idea of two sisters having lost two brothers 
by one another's hand. 

15. hrelj of time, since = ap' oj. — h vuktI rfi vvv, daring this last 
night. This conversation is supposed to be held early in the morning. 
Cf. 100. 

17. evTvxovcra agrees with the subject of oT5 a. Jfihi\ inquit, amplius 
novi, nee felicioreni [me factum esse], neque infeliciorem. Hermann. — 5irep- 
repov used adverbially. 

18. avXei&v iruXoov signifies the double door of the principal entrance. 

19. e|e7r€U7r3y. The Scholiast says this verb is used for fxzr<zireLXTrdar}v, 
I sent for yon. Boeckh supposes "she had herself brought her out for 
greater secrecy." But that the former interpretation is correct is shown 
by a similar passage in (Ed. Tyraunus, 951, where the king asks Jocaste, 
who has sent a servant for him: 

ri fL eg£~e/xi!/ci) Sevpo rto^Se Sco/xarcov ; 

20. What is the matter? for you are evidently. flushed about some com- 
munication ; you appear disturbed about something. — 5w\& intrans. with 



140 NOTES. 

a part, is equivalent to the expressions S?i\6s, <pavep6s el/xi, and, like these, 
may be rendered adverbially. — /caAxcuWjo-a, from /caA%7?, the purple mus- 
cle-shell, contains in some degree the notion of its primitive, being used 
to denote the heightened color produced by violent agitation. The con- 
struction with the ace. is very unusual ; indeed, this is probably the only 
instance. "Yidetur autem accusativus aptus esse ex notione agitandi 
sive volvendi, quae in verbo KaXxaiveiv inclusa tenetur." Wunder. 

21. yap assigns the reason of her indignation: for hits not Creon hon- 
ored one of our brothers with burial and disgraced the other ? The gen. 
rd(pov depends on both irpoTicras and aTifidcras, which are employed like 
atidbcras and ovk ati&cras, though in a much stronger contrast. Seidler 
says, rd(pov Trporiaas = rdtpov a^idocas irpb rov adeAcpov. But see Matth., 
33 7. — rcb Kao-iyvTjTG). The poet at first had the notion of the brothers 
together, and divides them in the' following line, rhu }Av, rbv 5e. Comp. a 
similar construction, infra, 561 f. The accusatives Ka<riyv{]T<a and 7rcu5s 
are used instead of the partitive genitive. Matth., 288, 8. 

23. ws Azyovo-i. There is reason to believe that this passage has been 
corrupted by the grammarians. Schneidewin has shown an inconsistency 
between this and v. 900 ; here Antigone mentions the burial of Eteocles 
upon hearsay, while there she is represented as saying that she had herself 
performed for him the last offices, such as washing, decking, and pour- 
ing tomb-libations. Some reject v. 24 altogether, partly on account of 
the anomalous construction xp^^^s °^ ducaiq, 8t/c?7, and partly because 
the sense is complete without it. Boeckh, who defends the common 
reading, sees a peculiar beauty in the expression gvv ducala Uk\i, mit 
rechte?n Rscht, in accordance with just right. "For," he remarks, "there 
is also an unjust right, an unlawful right, as Euripides calls it." — 
Xpyo-frels for the aor. mid. xpV^dy.sj/os, with avrcp understood. The 
sense : treating him in accordance with righteous justice and established 
custom, etc. 

25. ZvTiixov vsKpois (so as to be), honored among the dead below. The 
ancients believed that a person who was left unburied, or who did not re- 
ceive the customary honors, was regarded with contempt among the 
dead, being excluded from Hades, and compelled to wander a hundred 
years. Hence in the Hiad, xxiii., 71, the shade of Patroclus entreats 
Achilles : 3-a7rre fie otti Ta^tcra, irvXas 'A'/"5ao Treprjcrco. Yirg., iEn., xi., 
23 : qui solus honos Acheronte sub imo est. Ibid., vi., 329. 

26. IToA. v4kvv for TloXvvtiKv,. — Savovra, a pleonasm common in the 
poets. Cf. Eurip.,Troades, 91 : iroA\'2v ^avoyroov cdo/ia^ efoixrtj/ veKpcov. 
Iliad, xxiv., 180. 

27. sKKeKr\pvx&<u> The composite verb conveys the notion of greater 
publicity. — to refers to the whole contents of the edict. 



XOTES. 141 

29. ol&vots, bird? of prey (from olos), such as fly alone. 

30. eicropwai finely depicts the searching glance of snch birds watch- 
ing for their booty. — -n-pos %dpip in the sense of «/e/ca, as inf., 908. 

31. tov ayabhv Kpiovra, ironically, the excellent Creon. She and her 
sister had doubtless often applied this term to their uncle in earnest, 
When young they had been confided to his care by their father ((Ed. 
Tyr., 1503 ff), had grown up under his guardianship, and still continued 
to live in the royal palace under his protection, v. 531. — <rol koluol. An- 
tigone considers the edict aimed especially at themselves, as the persons 
most likely to murmur at and disobey it. 

32. \eycD yap Kafie. I say even to me, implying that he little knew 
her character. Kauai would have been more natural, but fxi is better 
suited to the metre, yap strengthens the disdainful expression. Boeckh. 

33. vetcr&ai. Schol. : TropeveoSai. The particle jut] should coalesce with 
€i, so as to form one syllable. It conveys the idea of contingency : to 
those ivho (may) not know it. 

34. ayeiu the Scholiast properly explains by riyela^ai. The sense: 
and that he does not regard the matter as a trifle. — ?rap 5 obZlv, of no impor- 
tance, occurs again, 466, i:ap ovdev aXyos. Schol. : oux &s ovftev, d\Aa fxiya. 

35. tovtccp refers to the words rd<pcp KaXv-d/ai \x. Kcottvcrai, v. 28. But 
that whoever does any of these, death by public stoning in the city is laid upon 
him as a penalty. The ace. cpovov with inf. depends upon <pao*i, v. 31, but 
these words formed no doubt a part of the proclamation. After 7rpo/ce?- 
cr&ai. understand tovtcv. — In the heroic age the usual manner of inflicting 
death, either by the furious multitude or by the sentence of kings, was 
the (pouos B7) l u6\sva'Tos i Schneidewin ad Ajac, 254. "VTe find the custom 
prevailing, to some extent, as late as the Apostles' times, Acts vii. 58 ; 
xiv. 19. — JEsehylus represents the decree regarding the two brothers as 
emanating from the Theban senate, Sept. c. Theb., 1006-1025. 

37. ovrcos exet. See Matth., 612. So stands the case for you, i. e., for 
your decision as to what course you will take. 

38. TrecpvKas, intrans., with the signification of the present. — ioSXcov is 
the synonyme of tbyevuv. The sense : and you will quickly show whether 
you are born noble-hearted, or are the degenerate offspring of noble parents. 
— 7T€(pvKas to be repeated with icr&X&v. Cf. Eurip., Iphig. ad Taur., 4: 
tov 5' ecpw kyx. Antigone hopes, by reminding Ismene of the heroic 
virtues of their parents, to induce her to adopt a resolution worthy of her 
birth. 

39. Ismene's reply shows her utter want of decision. — el rad\ h tov- 
tols in the same sense as ovtccs ex € h if matters are in thai condition. The 
Schol. explains : el ravra Kpecau eKeXevcev. — Construct : ri irXeou -irpoo~Sei- 
\x.r\v uv ; what advantage could I procure ? what good could I do ? 



M2 NOTES. 

40. \vovcr' t) '(pairrovcra, loosing or binding, that is, by obeying or dis- 
obeying. Boeckh has shown from several phrases, such as icd^afifxa 
\veiv, oux a/x/xa Xvcrtis, Ka^airra \veis, hvaXvTa a^fxara, etc., that Ismene 
here uses a proverbial expression, which is interpreted by the Scholiast : 
\vovcra rhu vS^ov u) fiefiaiodcra abr6y. For whoever acts contrary to a 
command weakens it, and he who follows it strengthens it. Hermann re- 
jects the common text, which is supported by the best MSS., and substi- 
tutes : a6ou(t' av 77 &&7rTou(Ta } quid proficerem si lavarem vel sepelirem? 
which Ismene could hardly have said, as no proposition had yet been 
made to bury Polynices, nor would she have expressed such amazement 
afterward when Antigone announces her purpose, v. 43 f. 

42. 7rov yvdofirjs ttot' el; num mentis tuae compos es ? Herm. Comp. 
Ajax, 102 : irov rvxns. Instead of ttot el, Hartung reads (pzpei, as in 
Elect., 922: oiroi yva>/jL7}s cpepei ; 

43. el. The force of g-kSttbl continues. — tyv ryde %e/n, i. e., with me. — 
Kovcpie7s, Attic fut. The expression kovQI&iv veKpbv is used by the poets 
in the same sense as avaipeiG&ai by prose writers. Wunder. 

44. cr<pe, poet, for clvtou. — airSpprjrov is neuter ace. abs., referring to 
the preceding words : quum sit interdictum sive vetitum. See Matth., 564. 
— yap, nam, used interrogatively. 

45. rhv i/nbp k. top cr6v is spoken as if they had a separate though 
equal share in their deceased brother. Antigone will at least do her 
duty, and Ismene's too, if she declines. Wunder rejects the following 
verse. Didymus says it was regarded as spurious by the ancient com- 
mentators, merely, as Hermann thinks, because Antigone replies in two 
lines instead of one, thereby interrupting the stichomythia. — Trpo$ov<f, rec- 
reant. In the spirit of the ancient belief, Antigone speaks as if her dead 
brother was a witness of her conduct, and she is unwilling to forfeit his 
esteem by deserting his body to his foes. 

48. But he has no right to debar me from what is mine. The dat. auTo) 
depends on pera, which is used for fiireffn. Comp. Elect., 538 : aAA 1 ov 
jxerriv avToi&L t)]v y £jj.t]u ktclvsiv. 

50; cos airex&hs Svo-KXerjs re, how hated (by men) and infamous our 
father perished. — Sos is understood after eireiTa and rpiTov. 

51. irpbs, from, i. e., on account of. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 1236: irpbs 
rluos iroT y afoias ; — avTorpupoov, brought to light by his own investigations ; 
self-detected. Dicuntur flagitia (Edipi ab ipso detecta fuisse, ut oculos 
sibi effoderet. Wunder. He discovered that he had killed his father and 
married his mother. 

53. dnrXovv tiros — SlttXovv ouo/xa, a twofold title, i. e., mother and 
wife in one person. In like manner in (Ed. T., 459, (Edipus is called vlbs 
koI irScris of Jocaste. 



notes. 143 

54. XoofiaTaL $iov, ignobly ended her life. — aprduaicn = ayx^ons. 

56. fiopoj/ — in olWtjXolj/, wrought upon each other a common death. — 
iiri denotes hostile intention. — xepo2V, lit. with their two hands, is used in 
the same sense as dnrXfj x^P >l i Y - ^- For tns pl« Ka>T6ipyd<ravTQ, see the 
same, note. 

59. kolkio't 6\ou/jle^-\ ice shall suffer a most awful death, in the manner 
mentioned in the proclamation, v. 36. — v6p.ov /3i'a, contrary to the law, in 
defiance of it, Cf. 79, pia ttoXit&v. iEsch., Sept. c. Theb., 612 : cppeyoou 
$ia, animo invito, contrary to his judgment, 

60. Tvpduvow, a poet, pi., as frequently. — irapQifiev takes a future sig- 
nification : if we shall transgress the khig^s ordinance, or authority. 

61. tovto fjiev, in the first place ; followed in the second member by 
iireira 5 s instead of tovto 5e. See Matth., 287, obs. 2, 

62. ecpvfjLev, intrans., as a present, — &s, like &sre, denotes a conse- 
quence; its force will appear in a literal translation: we are formed wom- 
en, so as not to contend against men = we are women, and therefore not 
made to contend with men. The fut. part, fiaxovniva, instead of the infin- 
itive. Brunck: haud viris certare pares. Comp. Elect., 997: yvvr) /ieu 
ovff hf\\p ecpvs, ^beveis §' eXaccrow ra>p iuavrtcou x € P'* Ismene, in marked 
contrast with her heroic sister, meekly accepts the position which her 
sex imposes upon her. 

63. The full construction would be : iireira 8e (sc. evvoeiv %pi]), on, 
ouveKa apxoyuecrd-a 4k KpeLcrcrovcov, XPV Vpas aKoveiv kcu ravra kcu en aXyio- 
va raJj/56. The sense is : and then we must consider that, since we are ruled 
by the stronger, we must obey both these commands, and what is yet more 
grievous than these. Schneidewin would govern the inf. clkovelu by i(pvfxev, 
but that seems to confuse the constructions of two distinct propositions, 
which depend on ivvotiv, just as above (49 ff.), three are dependent on 
(pp6vr)crov. 

65. robs vno x^oybs. The manes of Polynices are particularly meant, 
see at 46, though she may also include the x^ VL0L & eo ' L > wn0 are dis- 
pleased at being so long deprived of his body. 1015 ff., 1070 ff. 

66. jSia^o/xa: rads, lam constrained in this matter. Comp. 1073. The 
expression implies that she yields unwillingly to necessity. 

67. rots iv re\. fiefiaxn = fiacriXe?, i. e., Creon. — ol iv tw re\€i, qui 
magistratu funguntur, principes. Yiger, p. 144. fisfiaxTi, the perf. (BefinKa, 
was poetically used as a present, stay or continue in a situation. Cf. 996 ; 
(Ed. C, 52 ; Bernh. Gr. Synt,, 378 : ol iv ri\eL, those in office. Wachs- 
muth. 

68. irepLcrcra ivpdcro'eiv . . . to commit extravagances has no seme, is 
foolish. — TTEpLCcra, like ra^x^va, 92, impracticable. 

69. I would not urge you further, nor, if you were now willing to act, 



144 NOTES. 

should you help me, at least with my consent. — %ti to be joined also with 
KeXsixraifjLi. With rj^ioos understand i/j.oi. Brunck : neque lubens te utar 
adjutrice. Ismene's prudent counsels, and especially her determination 
to obey Creon's order, have no other effect than to excite her sister's con- 
tempt. Antigone regards her as taking part with her enemies, and coldly 
casts her off. 

71. ?(r&i, imperat. of elpl, be what you please ; that is, be a weak, sub- 
missive woman; said in answer to Ismene's words, sup. 61 f. Schneide- 
win and Wunder derive foSi from oZ5a, following the Scholiast in a sin- 
gular interpretation : yiyvcacTKt birdla crb &e\eis, to iret&ecr&ai to?s Tvpdwois, 
?) ToiavTT) yevov, diroia kolI f}ov\ei. The latter is undoubtedly the true in- 
terpretation ; and, besides, fofri never means the same as yiyvoocrKe. 

72. franco. It is unusual to bring a word over to the beginning of a 
verse, though here it lends to the expression a marked energy and deci- 
sion. Similarly in iEsch., Sept. con. Theb., 1028, Antigone declares: 
£yd> crepe &d\pca. 

74. ocria iravovpyfjcracra, having perpetrated a pious act, that is, having 
fulfilled a holy duty (ocria) in violation of human law. Camerarius : in 
sancto facinore, uti honestum furtum et piam fraudem et hujusmodi alia 
dicere consuevimus. 

75. tcov iv&dfie. The strict construction requires the dative rots iv- 
&a5e. Wunder paraphrases : eVel irXeiova xp^ov 5e? fi apicrKtiv rots Kara) 
% tois eV&a5e. 

77. arifidcracr' e^e. This form of expression properly denotes a per- 
sistent continuance of the action signified by the participle. It may be 
rendered: keep on dishonoring what is honored of the gods, i. e., by the 
gods. The sacred duty of burying the dead, which Ismene does not 
honor by observing, she is said to dishonor by neglecting. For the gen. 
depending on ivTi^a, see Matth., Gr. § 344. 

78. aTi[j.a iroLovfjiai = aTifidCco, Matth., 421, n. 2. — T~b Spav a/j.^x aj/ °^ is 
a poetical construction in which the article to appears to be superfluous, 
Matth., 543. But Bernhardy (Gr. Synt., 356) thinks that to with the ob- 
ject infinitive was designed to render^ the object more specific, such or 
this acting. For e<pvp cf. 62. — a/x^xayos, incapable, nicht stark genug. 
Schneidewin. 

80. irpovxoLo, a metaphor taken from a shield which a person presents 
for the purpose of defence. Hesychius explains by irpo<pacri(oio, you may 
offer this as a pretext. Boeckh : vorschutzen. Schol. : crv TavTa 7rpoj3d\\ov. 

82. o'lfioi TdKaivr^, &s k. t. A., alas for thee wretched, how 1 fear for 
thee ! — ofyoi, the ordinary exclamation of sorrow, is often followed by a 
gen. Yiger, Gr. id., p. 427. Matth., § 370. 

83. tt6t^ov. Some MSS., $iov, which Hartung adopts, and renders 



X T E s . 145 

thus : dehien Zusiand bessere nur ; only amend your own condition. But 
the usual interpretation is : care for your own lot, destiny, and leave me to 
mine. Cf. infr., 95, 546. — i£opdrov, straighten, reform ; said, because Isme- 
ne, from motives of expediency, had swerved from the course of rectitude 
and duty. For the sacred obligations by which relatives were bound to 
perform the last offices, see K. F. Hermann, Greek Domestic Antiquities, 
p. 204. 

85. <tvu 5 5 a-jTQjs iycc. In full : cuv crol 5 5 avrcas iycb Kevcra). I will do 
so too. 

86. Karavda, publish it. As in (Ed. Tyr., 93 : 5 Es tt&vtcls avoa. An- 
tigone indignantly repels the idea of concealing her pious action as a 
crime. For the ace. iroWbu, s. Matth., 425, 1. 

87. £av fjiij. You would expect 7) iracn K-npixro-ovo-a rdde; but, instead 
of completing the comparison, the poet proceeds as if crrycocra had not 
been used, 

88. d-e^aV — ex eiS "- ^ r ° u aave an ardent heart for chilling undertak- 
ings ; i. e., for deeds that make others shudder. It is a sarcastic re- 
proof of the ill-directed warmth of her sister. 

89. apicntovcra agrees with the subject of olda. Matth., 548. In this 
common idiom the part, in the nominative, though apparently equivalent 
to the object of the verb, is, in reality, the predicate of a dependent 
clause, and hence is often used for the infinitive. — ols relates to tovtols 
understood, cf. 75 : whom it most behooves me to please. 

90. el kcl\ 5. y intimates a doubt of her success : if you are only able 
fto execute your purpose], but you are fond of impracticable things ; a 
remark which applies to Antigone's temperament in general. Wex cites 
Lucian, D., viii. : ttXtiv olda, otl a^vydrcay epS.s. Eurip., Here. Furens, 
317: aSuvdrcav eoiic ep5.v. 

91. ovkovv, then, proinde. Then if I am too weak I will give it up, 
desist altogether. — ireiraiKrojAOLi differs from the simple fut. only in denot- 
ing a future condition as permanent. Host, Scintigram., p. 363. Matth., 
498. 

92. apxV est siatim ab initio. Herm. With negative propositions, 
not at all. Ismene means, she should not attempt what cannot be carried 
out. Suidas mentions &rjp%s aSvvara as a proverb ; and Stobssus cites, as 
one of the sayings of Chilo : ^77 im&vfiti afivvara. 

94. TrposKELcreL is used to denote Ismene's relations to her brother after 
death. A?id you will rest justly hated by the dead. — dixy as adv. diKaicas. 

95. e| ifjLov, equivalent to e'^V, as 1265. ejmov fSovXevn&Tcav. Cf. 1269. 
e/f and airb are often used by poets for no other reason than to fill the 
measure. Cf. 193, 150. — i/iov is properly the genetic genitive (gen. auc- 
toris), which is usually expressed without a preposition. The English 



14G NOTES. 

expression of mine is sometimes employed in the same way. — dvs&ovXiav 
ironically for jSouAev/xa. 

9G. to Seivov toGto, that awful tiling, viz., as it seems to you; spoken 
in answer to Ismene's words, 59 : kolkkx^ 6\ov/a€$\ 

97. Toa-ovrou is equivalent to outo) 8eiv6v, or, as the Scholiast para- 
phrases : ovdeu tt]Xlkovtou kclxov Treico/jLaL. I shall suffer nothing so dread- 
ful as not to die nobly. — p}\ ov. When the antecedent of a relative sen- 
tence is indefinite, the proper negative is /jltj, which then denotes a logical 
consequence, or effect, ov seems to be added for the purpose of making 
the negation more decided and complete. Thus (jltj ov become equivalent 
to the French tie — point, and the inf. aor. fravelv acquires the certainty of 
the future : I shall suffer nothing so dreadful that I shall not die honor- 
ably. Cf. Ajax, 728. 

98. ak\a with an imperative has the force of an exhortation, equiva 
lent to dr). Yiger, Gr. Id., p. 477. The sense is : icdl, then, go on if you 
tl unk proper. Cf. iEsch., Sept. cont. Theb., 1053. 

99. avovs fi€v Zpyji . . . though you are going upon a foolhardy ad- 
venture, yet you are truly devoted to your friends (kindred). The Schol, 
renders 'avovs by the adverbs avo^rcas and (piXoxivfivvoos. — fjcev — 5e, quam- 
vis — tamen. Yiger, 532. Cf. Soph., Trachin., 62 : 7/5e yap yvv)) SovXtj 
fx\v, e'ip7]K€u & iAev&spov \6yov ; haec enim mulier, quamvis serva, iiberam 
tamen sermonem locuta est. — cpix-q in the active sense of fpi\ia, loving, de- 
voted. Cf. Eurip., Iph. Taur., 614. Ismene cannot help doing honor to 
her motives, and admiring her self-sacrificing devotion. 

As Antigone departs to execute her purpose, and Ismene retires into 
the palace, the Chorus, consisting of aged citizens of Thebes, makes its 
entrance into the orchestra on the western side (toward the city), sing- 
ing to a measured step the following irdpoSos, or entrance-song. Sum- 
moned to appear before the new sovereign, the elders arrive before his 
court in time to hail the first beams of the morning sun, which, after the 
gloomy and anxious period of the siege, seems to rise with unexampled 
majesty. After the first expressions of joy, their minds naturally revert 
to the events of the fearful struggle through which their city has just 
passed. 

100. 'AktIs azhlov rb kolWkttov ... All the MSS. agree in this 
reading. Some editors, following the edition of Aldus and Laur. A., by 
a second hand, prefer aeXtoio Ka\Xicrrov y thus throwing out the objection- 
able article rb with the vocative. But the neuter article is some- 
times joined with the vocative ; for ex., Ajax, 856 : ere §', <S cpaewris 
7)imepas rb vvv creAas, and ibid., 861, 862. The Scholiast has the right in- 
terpretation: rb is to be joined with (pavev = o itydvrj. The order is : 
'A/crls a€\iov, (pdos rb (pduep kirrairvXc^ ®r]fia KaKhio'TOV twv irpOTepcav 



NOTES. 147 

{(pavivTwv). — tcaWuTTov, far more beautiful. Concerning this poetical use 
of the superlative, instead of the strengthened comparative, s. Matth., 
464, Herm. Viger, Greek Id., p. 67. Cf. 1212 of this play. A some- 
what remarkable imitation of it is found in Milton's Paradise Lost, book 
iv., 233 : "Adam, the goodliest man of men since born his sons ; the fair- 
est of her daughters, Eve." 

102. i<pduxr7}s 7ror s , at length thou hast risen, (paipofj-ai is the word 
usually employed to denote the rising of the heavenly bodies. — fi\£(papov 
taken for the eye itself = o^&aA^os, as if the sun winked or peeped upon 
the earth. Boeckh. So in Eurip., Phoeniss., 553, vvkt6s $\£<papov is the 
moon. iEschylus has the same figure, Sept. c. Theb., 390 : vvttrbs 6(p&aA- 
fxbs, noctis oculus. 

105. AipKaicav vtt. pee&paiv. AipKt] is the name of a fountain and river 
on the west of Thebes ; but, as the routed Argives fled toward the south- 
west, and the action of the play is represented as taking place in mid- 
summer, when the sun rises toward the northeast, it appeared to them 
to come over the Dircean stream. Comp. 416 ff. 

106. XevKacrinv. Sophocles follows iEschylus, who, in Sept. c. Theb., 
90, describes the Argive host : 6 KevKaa-ins \a6s, exercitus albis scutis in- 
structus. Cf. Eurip., Phoeniss., 1115 : \evKao"Kiv 'Apyeloov GTparbv. — 
'Apye'Cov is Boeckh's emendation of 'Apycfoej/, which, though supported by 
the MSS., is defective in metre. Dindorf follows Hermann's conjecture, 
'hpy6bev Ik. 'A-mSbey, as proposed by Ahrens, is not sufficiently signifi- 
cant. 

107. (poora, sc. Adrastos, as the representative of the army under his 
command. — iravcrayia = o~vv TravoirXia, Schol. — fSavra describes the slow 
movement of the Argives to Thebes in contrast with the hurry of their 
retreat. 

109. Kiyrjcraaa agrees with olktIs. The approach of day impelled the 
fugitives to a more rapid flight, because there was then greater danger 
of being overtaken. — b^vripo) x a ^ LV $'> w ^h tighter rein. The Argives 
fought upon war-chariots. Cf. iEsch., Sept. c. Theb., 50, 204. 

110. cs — UoXvueiKovs. This reading, from the conjecture of Scaliger, 
has been approved by several of the recent editors. The common text 
has op — Uo\vp€iK7]s ; but, apart from the difficulty of supplying a suitable 
word to govern the ace. ov, it should be observed that, in the following 
simile of the eagle, the words \€VKr t s %'oVos mr. areyav6s necessarily apply 
to the whole Argive army, and are by no means to be referred to Poly- 
nices alone. The latter's quarrel for the throne is touched upon with re- 
serve, and simply for the purpose of indicating the origin of the hostile 
invasion. The principal theme of the Chorus is the conduct and move- 
ments of the besieging army, which it likens first to an eagle, which, with 



148 NOTES. 

the aim of seizing his booty, flies over into the land (els yay), and after- 
ward to a dragon prowling around the walls. 

111. ap&els, raised, excited. In veuduv there is an allusion to the sig- 
nification of the name UoXvpeiKvs (iroXv j/eT/cos, multa rixa), noticed by 
JEschylus, Sept. c. Theb., 577, 658, 830. Likewise Eurip., Phoen., 646, 
calls this name peiKecov iircouvfiov. 

112. o|ea KAafav, schrill screaming. Said in reference to the insult- 
ing boasts and vociferations of the Argive leaders, for which comp. iEsch., 
Sept. c. Theb., 381, 425. The same poet uses a similar figure in refer- 
ence to the Atrides advancing against Troy, Agam., 48 : fxeyav e/c &v/jlov 
K\d£oisT€s v Ap?7 rpowop alyviri&y. Comp. Horn., II., xii., 125 : o|ea kgkAv,- 
yovres. 

113. alerbs els yav virepiirra, flew like an eagle over into our land, i. e., 
flew over and lit upon our city. — vTrepeirra, Dor. for xmepeirrr], aor. of 
7/rTa,uaz. 

114. XevKTJs x L ° V0S > g en> °f material, Matth., 373. Schol. : rovro a\- 
\r\yopLKoos (p-qa-ij/, &s eirl aerov. The allusion is to the white shield which 
covered the warrior, as wings the bird of prey. Cf. 106. 

117. crras, standing, i. e., upon the wall, higher than the houses. The 
subj. of this part, is os, referring to the Argive man, who had scaled the 
walls, but was repulsed by the bravery of the Thebans. Instead of con- 
tinuing the metaphor of the eagle, as the Scholiast thinks, the poet uses 
terms appropriate to a beast of prey gorging himself with blood, until 
finally in SjjcLkoptl he gives the image a clear and definite form. — dacpoi- 
vqTmtiv, dripping or reeking tcith blood. The MSS. (poiyicucriy, emended by 
Ritschl. Boeckh, (popdxraicriv. 

119. eirrdirvKop (rrofxa = ras eirra irvXas. Cf. Eurip., Suppl., 403 : 
'EreoxXeovs Stclpoptos a/x^ e-irTao'TOfjLOvs ttvXols ; and Phoen., 294 : eTzrd(TTO- 
fxov 7rvpya)/j.a. 

120. Construct : e@a -npip iro^ (avrbp) 7r\7)(T&r)vai afxerepeep at/ndTccp yepv- 
crip re kcu irvK&evTa "Hcpaio'Toy eXelp (TTecpdpco/Lia irvpywv. The sense : he 
went away, ere he was glutted with our blood within his cheeks, and the pine- 
torch had caught the coronal of towers. — yepvcip is the dat. of place. — 
erreepdp. Trvpycop, the circle of towers surrounding the city. Cf. Horn., II., 
xix., 99 : iixTrecpdvci) ipl ®7i,Bw. 

123. trevKdev^' °H<p. Cf. Virg., iEn., xi., 768, pineus ardor ; and infra, 
1007. It means, properly, the pitch-pine flame. 

124. rolos — ird&r), such a din of cattle was made about his back ; that 
is, such a furious onset was made upon the besiegers that they were com- 
pelled to turn their backs. — a/upl pwra is poetically used in anticipation 
of the effect of the onset ; it implies that the enemy were already on their 
flight. — irtifrri (reipco), lit., was strained, denoting the intensity of the charge. 



-VOTES. 149 

126. An overmatch for the opposing dragon, viz., the enemy. — dvsx^- 
pw/j-a, in appos. with irdrayos, is used in the sense of an adj., irresistible. 
The ancient commentators will have it that dpdKoyri refers to the The- 
bans, because, according to the fable, they were dpaKovToysvels* sprung 
from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus. But we learn from Eurip., 
Phcen., 1151 fl., that the dragon was the symbol of the Argives ( 5 Apye7- 
ov avxnua.), and that the shield of Adrastus, their leader, had upon it, be- 
sides adders and hydras, dragons represented dragging the children of the 
Cadmeans from the walls. Cf. also JEsch., Sept. c. Theb., 495. 

127. tityaXris yXucrcrns kou.ttovs, the boastings of a prowl tongue. The 
poet here assigns the cause for which Zeus overthrew the Argive host, 
and punished their insolence in the person of their most insolent captain. 
The overweening pride of the Argive leaders, here slightly alluded to, was 
generally known from JEschylus's Septem cont. Theb., 421 ff. ; the boast 
of the giant Capaneus, whose fate is described in the following verses, is 
particularly remarkable, v. 425 fl. : 

6 k.6jl— o? 5' ov kixt o.vBp'j)—ov <£povei • 
6eov re yap 8£\ovros Ik— epcreiv —okiv 
Ktu /j.7] OeAovrog $-qcnv, ovdk rr\v Aib? 
"Eptv -e'Soj crKTi^acrav Zk-oBuv ax^elv — 

which Ahrens renders : "Superbia autem ejus ultra hommern sese extol- 
lit. Deo enim volente urbem se eversurum et nolente praedicat, neque 
Jovis aemulantem iram (fulmen) in terram demissam sibi impedimento 
futuram." The sentiment prevailed generally among the ancient nations 
that the Deity abhorred and punished human pride. Cf. Proverbs, vi., 
17: ''The Lord hateth a proud look."' Herod., vii., 10: (pLKtei yap 6 
&eos to, virepexovra irdyra kgXovelu. -JEsch., Pers., 827, and v. 1350 of this 
play. 

129. TrokX'2 pevixaTi. This dat., according to Schneidewin, Is depend- 
ent on the adj. inrepowTas, used in the sense of viripcppovas : dated by the 
mighty stream (of their army) and by the rattling of their gold, i. e., arms 
ornamented with gold. So ^Esch. in Pers., 410 : psG/xa UepcrLKov o-Tparov, 
and Eurip., Iph. Taur., 144S. — x.pv(rov Kavaxfi & • • • Wunder : Armorum 
aureorum siridore superbientes. Boeckh retains the vulg. Kavaxr\s, but 
gives a very obscure interpretation : im gewaltigen Strom des Ueber- 
muths des Gold-gerausches {in the mighty stream of the pride of the rat- 
tling of gold). — According to JEschylus the arms, as well as the language 
of the Argives, were pompous and insolent. Sept. c. Th.. 391, 540. 

131. pLTTTe?. Capaneus is meant, see above at 127. The words of 
Euripides in Phoen., 1196, may serve as a commentary to this passage: 
7?'c>?7 5' uTrep/BcuVoyra yelaa teixcmv fi&Wei Kepavucc Zevs viv. iKTV7r7]cr€ 5 s 
X^v, tiers Belcrcu irivras. In this passage, he is just climbing upon the 



150 NOTES. 

escarpment of the wall, when he is struck down from the ladder by the 
fatal thunder-bolt ; in Sophocles, he is already on the lofty goal, PaXfiidtov 
eV aKpcou ^'5?7, i. e., the battlements, starting to shout victory. — The man- 
ner of Capaneus's death is the literal fulfilment of the hope of Eteocles, 
JEsch., Sept. c. Th., 444 : Tleiro&a S 5 avrcf £uj> hinrj rbv irvp<p6pov r£eiv 
Kepawhj/, "I trust that the fiery thunder will deservedly fall upon him,' 7 
and of the Chorus, 629 : irvpycou 8' eKTobev fiakwv Zeus o<pe kolvoi Kepawcp, 
" and that Jupiter, striking them off the towers, may destroy them with 
his thunder." 

133. bpix&vra. This participle means, here, one who is preparing, is on 
the point of doing something. 

134. avTLTvira is Porson's emendation of the usual adv. form avTirvira, 
and has been adopted by Dindorf, Hartung, and Wunder. The idea is 
that Capaneus fell with such force that he rebounded, as it were, by the 
counter-blow of the earth. One of the Scholiasts explains it in the same 
sense : &vw&ev Be rvirels inrb rod Kepavvov Karcc&ev 8e virb rrjs yyjs, " struck 
from above by the thunder-bolt, and from below by the earth." Brunck 
interprets : quassatus in terram a qua repercussus est, cecidit ignifer. — rav- 
ra\oo&e\s, hurled, launched. The word expresses a quivering motion, as 
when a spear is thrown. The Schol. explains by 8tc«rei<r&ets, shaken or 
moved violently, not " shattered to pieces," as Woolsey understands it, 
though that view suits Euripides' description of this event, Phceniss., 
1199 ff. : e/c 8e KXifx&Kwv effcpevfiovaro %(apts a\\{]\<tiv fieXn, nSfjiai fiev els 
"QAv/jlttov, alfjia 8 5 els x§r6va., X e ?P €5 ^ e K0 ^ K ^\ &s KvuXcofx J I|ioz>os elxiacrero. 

135. irvp<p6pos, fire-bearer, so called because he carried a blazing 
torch. JEschylus (Sept. c. Th., 432) describes him as bearing a shield 
whereon was the device of a naked man holding in his hand a lighted 
torch, and uttering, in words of golden letters, " Trpjo-w irSAiv" I will 
burn the city. Cf. (Ed. Col., 1319. 

137. eireTTvei, sc. eirl tV tt6\ip, who, storming with frantic rage, blew 
upon the city with the blasts of fiercest winds ; a metaphor drawn from a 
hurricane. Similarly the charge of Mars is described, iEsch., Sept. c. 
Th., 343 : fiaivS/jLej/os 8' emvvei Xaoddfjias "Apws. Comp. infra., 929. 

138. eT%e 8' &\\a ra fxep. So verhielt siclCs an einem Ort (Thus it 
happened in one place), Boeckh. The idea is, that such a lot befell him, 
while to the other leaders Mars assigned a different death, i. e., they were 
slain in the fight, ^sch., Th., 340.— e?xe ra {xev, cf. 37.— ciAAa, Dor. for 

140. SetiScreipos, mighty, victorious. An epithet borrowed from the 
race with the quadriga, or four-horse chariot. The horse on the right, 
being on the outside, in turning round the meta had to make the largest 
turn in the same time, and hence was obliged to be the strongest and 



NOTES. 151 

fleetest. As Mars, the ancient protector of the country, had now aided 
in chasing away the enemy from his well-beloved city (iEseh., Sept., 107 ; 
" Thebes abounding in chariots "), the Chorus, by a natural and beautiful 
image, term him their de£i6<reipos, who had brought out the Theban war- 
chariot victorious. The Schol. renders by yevvalos. 

141. yap introduces the explanation of the words &AAa — eVe^^a, 
showing what fates Mars allotted to the other captains. 

142. Xcol irphs Xcrovs. iEschylus, in his " Seven against Thebes" rep- 
resents King Eteocles appointing chosen warriors to oppose the Argive 
leaders at each of the seven gates, reserving for himself the seventh, at 
which his brother Polynices was posted. Hence Apollodorus says (lib. 
iii.) : *ET€OK\ris Karacrricras Tjye/j.oi'as X&ovs foois era^e. Comp. Eurip., 
Phcen., 761 : "htovs "icroicri iroXefiioLcri avri&eis. Herod., ix., 48. 

143. Left to Tropaean Jupiter their brazen gifts. The armor stripped 
from their bodies and built up in the form of a trophy is ironically called 
offerings to Jupiter, the arbiter of battles ; Tpoiraicp, awarding defeat to 
one and victory to the other. — The word rixos is sometimes used to de- 
note gifts to the gods. 

144. 7rAV roiv (TTvy., except the wretched pair, etc. " Though they also 
fell," says Triclinius, " yet their arms were not offered to the gods be- 
cause their victory was not decided. " In the following verses the Chorus 
dwells with great emphasis upon the sameness of their origin and fate, 
in order to exhibit their unnatural conduct in the strongest light. — 
clutolv =3 a\Xy}\oiv. — SiKpareTs, doubly victorious, because causing death to 
both. Aristophanes, in fragm. 471, says they were twins ($i7ttvx« K-opca), 
and instituted the single combat. 

148. aAAa yap. These particles have each a distinct office. aAAa 
serves to mark an abrupt transition, and should be connected with the 
imper. d-eV&e, while yap points to the reason of the exhortation. The gen- 
eral sense is : But let us now forget these combats, for glorious Victory has 
come smiling upon Thebes rich in chariots. Hence it will be seen that yap 
is here placed before the clause of which it assigns the reason, and answers 
to our since, as, inasmuch as, etc. Comp. a similar use in (Ed. Col., 624. 

149. aj/Tixape'io'a conveys the notion of reciprocity. The Goddess of 
Victory has graciously met the Thebans half-way, and rejoices in their 
joy. The expression is similar to our congrcdulating. Hermann: mutu- 
um ridens. The dat. Qrifia, depends upon 9j\^e. 

150. e/c may be considered redundant, as iroXefxcov may equally be 
governed by Xrjo'ixoo'tvav. Comp. supra, 95 and note. iEsch., Choeph., 
422 : foavTos in parpSs icrrl &vfj.6s, matris ira est implacabilis. The 
Chorus desires to banish all painful remembrances which can sadden their 
triumph, and to offer to all the gods thanksgivings for deliverance. 



152 NOTES. 

151. &eV&€ \7](rfxo(Tvj/av is nearly equivalent to Xc&iaSai. tojv vvv 
must not be separated from iroXefxcov, the adv. vvv being used as in v. 16 : 
iv vuktI rfj vvv, referring to something just ended. 

153. Construct: 6 ®o&as Bixxios apxoi eAeAi'xSw, and let the Tlicban 
Bacchus be our leader, shaking the ground. The god is called iXeAix^ccv, 
because, in dancing, he causes the earth to tremble under his feet ; pede 
terrain quaiit. It is a general cognomen of Bacchus, who was the par- 
ticular patron of Thebes. The gen. &f]/3as is dependent on Bolkxlos. 
Hartung remarks that, " with every Bacchic chorus, the god himself is 
present and leads the dance. For it has ever been the case that, where 
several persons were assembled in the name of a divinity, he was in their 
midst." 

155 ff. The Corypheus here gives notice of the approach of Creon, 
who presents himself for the first time in the character of king. He has 
ordered a special meeting of the senators (here composing the Chorus), 
who question what object he can have in issuing this extraordinary sum- 
mons. 

155. The demonstrative pron. 6'5e is used in the sense of an adverb, 
here, there (Matth., 471), and should be connected with x^P 6 ^ — J^P in- 
mates a reason why the proposed visit to the temples of the gods cannot 
now be carried out. The sense is : but hold, for here comes Creon, etc. 
Kpeoov is pronounced as one syllable, and Mevoucioos as only three, by 
synizesis. 

157. v€oxp-o7(ji d-e<2y. This is Dindorf's emendation of the vulg. j/eo%- 
ixbs veapcuo-i &ea>v. The passage is thus happily cleared of a word unne- 
cessary to the sense, and which was probably introduced by an ancient 
grammarian in order to make this anapestic system correspond exactly 
with the preceding one. Many suppose that there is a gap in the text, 
but Dindorf justly remarks that an exact correspondence is nowhere 
found where the Corypheus announces the entrance of any one. The 
sense is : here comes Creon, son of Menoeceus, now king of the land by the 
recent ordinances of the gods. — cvvrvxioLis &ewv signify events brought 
about by the will of the gods. Cf. (Ed. T., 34 : Scu/jlovcov £vva\Aaya7s. 
Philoct., 1116: ttot/jlos dai t u6vccv. The event particularly alluded to, is 
the fatal combat of Eteocles and Polynices, by whose death Creon suc- 
ceeded to the throne. 

158. rlva — £pe<T(TQov, ivhat purpose revolving, that, etc. The Schol. ex- 
plains epecrcrtov : iv havrca kivwv Kal fxepi/uLvoov. — rlva. Dindorf reads riva, 
but the interrogative is more animated and more suited to the circum- 
stances, particularly as Creon's answer follows directly. 

159. or i — xicrxWf ^ la ^ ? ie h as appointed this special meeting of the 
council of the elders, or yepovcrla. — crvyKAyrov, the Attic expression for an 



NOTES. 153 

extraordinary or called meeting of the people ; Trpov&ero, mid. voice, be- 
cause the absolute ruler merely wishes to make known his will to his 
subjects. Schneidewin. 

161. Trends, simple for the compound perairefityas, having summoned, 
or sent for. Schol. /xeracrreLXd/Jieyos. 

162. Creon, in the opening of what may be termed his inaugural 
speech, likens the Theban state to a ship which has been rocked and 
tossed by a heavy sea, but which has now been safely righted again. 
190. — iroWcp adXcp. The Scholiast : rpoiriKcos, ws e7rt viws. Similarly 
(Ed. Tyr., 22. Brunck cites Plutarch's Yita Fab., 27 : tV riyefwvlav d>s 
a\7]&ws ttoAA.63 (rdXta cejcd-eTcay ccp^rcacre irdXiv. 

164. upas, with emphasis, you, as the representatives of the city. See 
note to 155. — 4k 'k&vtw 8/xg, apart from all the citizens ; or, as the Schol. 
understands it, you especially of all. — iroixirotcrLv, dat. instr. See Matth., 
395. Schol. : 5m tto/jlttwp. 

165. tovto fjt.€v, followed by tout' av&is instead of tovto $e. Cf. supra, 
61. Render, in the first place — and then afterward. Creon praises their 
faithful loyalty to Laius and his descendants, in order to conciliate their 
good feelings toward himself, and thus secure their hearty support. The 
passage intimates that the Chorus of Elders were of such advanced age 
that they had been in the councils of Laius. 

166. (rifiovras instead of <re/3etv, which would here have a preterit 
signification. — eu to be joined with (TefiovTas in the sense of zealously, or 
faithfully. — Spovuv, a poetical pi. for the sing. Cf. (Ed. Col., 375. 

16/7. wp&ov iroXiv. Creon refers to (Edipus's liberation of the city 
from the distress occasioned by the ravages of the Sphinx, and to his 
prosperous reign up to the time of the pestilence. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 36 ff. 

168. a/jL(p\ tovs Ksivo)v . . . and that you have still stood firmly by their 
offspring with steadfast loyalty. — afi<p\ 9 which denotes a close attachment, 
is used by the tragic writers instead of irepi, which is preferred by good 
prose authors. See Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., p. 245. — ircudas, Lat. prolem, 
viz., Eteocles and Polynices — children of one, and grandchildren of the 
other. — \x£vovt<xs, part, instead of the inf. [xeveiv. As frequently in poets, 
the simple is used for the compound, efiixiveiv. Horn., II., xvii., 434 : were 
ffT^Xt] jxevei efiireBoi/. 

172. auT($xeipi avv fjudcr/xari, with fratricidal guilt. Wunder : mutual 
ccedis nefario scelere. The epithet avr6x^p could be used in regard to 
violence committed by the hand of a relative. Comp. 1175, note; also 
(Ed. Col., 1387: crvyyevei x«?pl, 1374. Eurip., Phoen., 894. 

173. Kpdrrj teal frpSvovs exec. An expression denoting the ruler's 
absolute power. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 237 : ys iyk Kpdrr) re /cat &p6vovs 
Venice. 



154 NOTES. 

174. Construct: tear* ayx L(TTe ^ a ywovs toov oAcoXStow. The sense: by 
virtue of my near relationship to the deceased. The gen. oAwAStoov depends 
upon ayx^Teta yevovs, which form one idea. It is evident that it was so 
understood by the Scholiast, who interprets tear olKeiSrnTa, kolt <rvyy£- 
vsiav. Comp. a similar instance of a double genitive, 1184 f., and exam- 
ples collected by Bernhardy, Gr. Syntax, p. 162. 

175. iKfiabeiv, to find out, to know thoroughly. — iravrhs avdpbs, as we 
say, of any and every man. Lat. : cujusque, cujusvis, of any man what- 
ever. ajj.7jx ay0J/ ^ subaud. icrri. 

176. ^vxhv re Kal (pp6i/r]/j.a Kal yv&}x7)v. These words comprise the 
whole spiritual man : -tyvxhv, the heart, or natural disposition ; yj/co/jarju, the 
understanding, or intelligence (Ritschl.'s Rhein. Mus., JS"o. 2, p. 259) ; <pp6- 
yn/xa, views, principles, as the results of thought. Comp. 354. 

177. irplv av — cpavfj, before he has shown them by being practically tested 
in the administration of government and in legislation. The poet appears 
to have had in mind an apothegm of one of the ancient wise men : apxh 
&j/Spa delxwo-i. See Harpocrat, under the word apx'h- In (Ed. Tyr., 
614, the proverb is modified : xp^ os ^ixaioj/ audpa deba/vciy /xSvos. 

178. ifxol yap, etc. From the general remark that a man can only be 
fairly judged by his official acts, Creon makes a somewhat abrupt transi- 
tion to himself, who is precisely in this situation. It is difficult to say 
what is the exact force of yap here, but, as this particle serves to intro- 
duce the speaker's convictions, it seems to imply some such connecting 
thought as this : As to myself, though as yet untried, I intend to govern 
for the benefit of the whole, without fear or partiality ; for it has long been 
my conviction that he who, etc. Previous to the death of the two broth- 
ers, who were both claimants of the throne, Thebes had been rent by 
violent party feuds, and the evils arising from these dissensions were 
doubtless the cause that Creon declares, at the outset, that he will rule 
independent of party. 

180. £k (j>6fiov rov (=: tiv6s), from fear of any. Boeckh : aus Men- 
schenfurcht. — yXcocrcrav iyK. e%er, keeps his mouth closed. Cf. 505 : d jut) 
y\&<T<rav iyKKyoi <bo$os. Concerning the force of e%w with a part., see 
note to 77. Creon seems to refer to a particular instance, viz., the edict 
forbidding the burial of Polynices, which he had fearlessly proclaimed. 
He strives to justify the act on the principle of public expediency, but his 
former antagonism to that prince might justify the suspicion that he had 
been moved to it by personal hostility. 

181. vvv Te Kal iraAai. Comp. Elect., 676. Concerning the present 
tense doKe?, cf. Demosth., Phil., iii., § 12, and my note. 

182. nel(oiS avrl. The preposition is redundant. See Matth., 450, 1. 

183. ovdafMov \4yo>, sc. ehai, in nullo honoris loco esse dico. Erfurdt. 



NOTES. 155 

It is an expression of contempt, like ovdevbs a^tov riyovu.au iu obdevl Troiod- 
\xo.i Koycf. 

184:. Xcrroi Zevs, be Jupiter my witness! a solemn oath. 

186. (rreixovo-av, viz., by the act of friends or kindred, referring to 
the traitorous conduct of Polynices in bringing a hostile army against 
the country. Creon means that he would disregard the claims of rela- 
tionship and act simply for the public weal. — noorriptas. "Wunder errone- 
ously considers this to mean his personal welfare : ut ipse salmis sim. 

187. (pi\ov . . . Krsiixriv epaurw. The sense is : Nor would I ever make 
my personal friend a man who was my country's foe. — y(bovbs = -rrdrpas. 

1S9. ?)5 3 referring to -x&ov6s. It is she who saves us ) etc. The idea is, 
that the welfare of individuals is dependent on that of the state, just as 
the safety of the mariner is identified with that of a ship ; that safety is 
only to be found in keeping her upright — governing her rightly and main- 
taining her laws — by doing which we shall make true friends. The same 
figure is employed by Cicero, ad Fam., xii, 25 : una navis est jam bono- 
rum omnium ; quam quidem nos damns operam ut rectam teneamus. 
Comp. a similar sentiment of Pericles, in Thuc, 11, 60. Demosthenes, 
Phil., iii., 69. 

191. Upon such principles I will exalt this city; that is, by securing 
good order, I shall promote the well-being of the state. The present 
tense av£co is used, because, by his measures, he has already entered upon 
the intended reform. The blessings flowing from obedience, and the per- 
nicious consequences of insubordination, he develops more fully, 663- 
680. 

192. d5eAd>a ra^Se, things akin to these. Br. : affinia horum. The idea 
is : (, T have made a proclamation in keeping, and on a par, with these 
principles." Creon, as the representative of military absolutism, rests 
the whole salvation of the state upon unconditional submission to legiti- 
mate authority. The edict concerning the sons of (Edipus was framed 
with the view of securing such submission, from the outset of his reign. 
Its manifest design was to teach his subjects a salutary lesson by con- 
ferring the highest honors upon the one who had fallen in defence of the 
sovereign power (cf. 25), and inflicting upon the rebel the most dreaded 
of all penalties. 

195. rdvr apurrcva-as dopt, far the bravest with the spear. Comp. 
Trachin., 488 ; Ajax, 435. - 

196. ra vvarr tfyayvicrai, to pay all the honors ) in addition to interment, 
ayvi&cu iw\ r$ rdcpw. The expression alludes to the ceremony of placing 
around the dead a variety of instruments, utensils, and clay images ; the 
burning of favorite animals, garments, ornaments, and food, and the pour- 
ing of libations upon the grave. See K. F. Hermann's Domestic Antiq. 



15G NOTES. 

of the Greeks, pp. 199, 205. As the ancients imagined that their de- 
parted friends were still conscious of what was passing in the upper 
world, they took care to surround them with affectionate remembrances 
of their former life. 

197. epx^rui K-iroj, descend to. Brunck : quae strenuorum virorum 
Manibus demittuntur. It was an ancient belief that libations and other 
honors reached the dead to whom they were offered. Woolsey cites 
Musgrave : " Credebantur libamina sub terram et ad mortuorum usque 
sedem penetrare." Cicero, de Amicit., iv., refers to this tenet of the an- 
cients : " Qui mortuis tarn religiosa jura tribuerunt ; quod non fecissent 
profecto, si nihil ad eos pertinere arbitrarentur." 

198. Creon now states the reasons why he had adopted a different 
course toward Polynices. Attributing to him all the blood-thirstiness 
and savage purposes of the allies he had associated with him, the mon- 
arch sternly judges that the rebel has forfeited the common rights of a 
human being ; and so, breaking loose from the restraints of religion, he 
falls back to the position of unenlightened, i. e., barbarous, justice. 

199. 3-eoi/s r. iyyepeTs, deos indigenas ; that is, their images and tem- 
ples. Cf. 285. JEsch., Sept. cont. Theb., 582 : iroXiv irarpcaav Kal &eovs 
robs eyyevels Trop&eiy. 

200. (pvyas KareA&cbj/, a returning exile. In (Ed. Col., 1292, we are 
told that he had been banished from Thebes by his brother Eteocles, 
with the concurrence of the citizens. 

201. ai/xaros koivov irdaacr&ai, to taste a kindred (i. e., a brother's) 
blood. — koivov) comp. v. 1. The Schol. : avrl rod £fx<pvAiov ? rj rod a5eA- 
(pLKov aiixaros. He paints Polynices as a blood-thirsty savage, in order to 
justify his own inhumanity toward him. — tovs 5e (sc. iroXiras) dov\. ayeiv, 
and to carry the citizens away captive. Concerning the particle 5e repeated 
after a single fxiu, see Herm., Yig., p. 535. 

203. 6KK€K7)pvKTai. Most of the recent editors have adopted this con- 
jecture of Musgrave, instead of iKKeKvpvx^ai, which is found in the MSS., 
but which Boeckh admits to have no proper construction. The verb is 
synonymous with Krjpv^as £%&>, 192, and appears to be inserted merely to 
avoid the obscurity occasioned by dwelling so long upon Polynices' 
crimes. 

205. The order of construction : eay 8' a^airrov Kal alKicr&evr lde?u 
tie/mas ideo'Tov irpbs oleoucou Kal -irphs kvpcop, but to leave him unburicd and 
disfigured to behold, with his body mangled by dogs and birds of prey. — 
Se^as, acc. of limitation. — ideiv, gov. by the part., is similar to the Lat. 
supine aspectu. Comp. iEsch., Sept. c. Theb., 644 : revxncrry]v Idelv, bel- 
latorem aspectu. A similar thought, Ajax, 830. 

207. (f>p6j/r}fxa, determination. Cf. 176. 



NOTES. 157 

208. irpoi^ovcri. A hyperbolical expression, as if the good were de- 
prived of their due by receiving only equal honor with the bad. If 
traitors are treated with like honor, it is equivalent to a reward offered 
to treason. Hermann, from Cod. August., reads irposQow' : " Sensus 
causa. Neque enim de praeferendo Eteocli Polynice, sed de aequando 
sermo est." 

211. The Chorus answers with reserve, implying that it is not con- 
vinced by Creon's specious reasoning, but that it has its own opinion 
about the matter, which it may not be prudent to express. With a mas- 
ter possessing absolute power, it feels that remonstrance is useless. 

212. hvsvow — eiffievij. Boeckh prefers to govern these accusatives 
by Kara understood. Dindorf substitutes teas instead of teal, the prep- 
osition is governing both, as in 1176. Others understand dpacrai or 

TTOIZLP. 

213. 7rov y evea-ri croi, certainly it is in your power, etc. The particle 
y€ is somewhat sarcastic, intimating that, however he might abuse his 
power, his subjects must needs submit. Their acquiescence is merely 
formal and such as his position requires. There is no fawning servility ; 
for, while they do not question his right to legislate, they do not profess 
approbation of an act which their consciences condemn. — The Scholiast 
explains the verse correctly : e|e<7Tt col hirers &e\€is vo/noSere?!/. 

215. (It is my will) that you should now be observers of what has been 
ordained. — wy, with av followed by the subjunctive, is so clearly an in- 
timation of purpose, intention, that, to a Grecian ear, an appropriate 
leading verb naturally presented itself. With military brevity the mon- 
arch signifies his will by a particle. We may understand KeXevca or 3-eAw. 
All the finer modifications of Greek particles are to be referred to ellipses, 
which by long use in common life ceased to be noticed, and therefore did 
not need to be supplied. See Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., pp. 352 £, 400. 

216. The word (tkottoI, used by Creon in the sense of observers, or 
rather of a vigilance committee of our day, is misunderstood by the 
Chorus, who answers : Lay this charge upon a younger man to bear, i. e., 
the duty of watching the corpse. 

217. a\\a — ye are used to correct the misapprehension of the Chorus : 
nay but there are already watchers of the corpse. See Herm., Tiger, 471. 

218. ri drjra — rovr is similar to the common phrase ri ouv tovto ; 
quid igitur hoc ? — $?ira, in questions, is often used for 5)? or ovv, then, 
therefore. Cf. Aristoph., Wasps., 1177 : rlva d?)T 3 av \iyois ; " what would 
you say, then ? " — a\X<2. Some MSS. have a\\o, which Schneidewin pre- 
fers. But we cannot well dispense with aWti, since Creon does not rely 
upon the watchmen alone to execute his commands, while en makes aWo 
superfluous. The sense of the question is : what, then, is this which you 



158 NOTES. 

would enjoin further upon another P that is, upon us. The additional 
command is contained in Creon's answer ; not to countenance those wh 
disobey this order. — am<rrsiv = c^reid-el*/. Cf. 381, 656. 

220. outgi) — os. The relative with a finite verb after ovtoq has th 
sense of &crre 9 as to, with the inf. Matth., 479, 1. With ianv supply 
ris. The Chorus does not imagine it possible that any one will be will- 
ing to incur certain death by violating the royal decree. 

221. not jjl7]v — ye, at saltern, at vero, certainly. — vir eXiri^cav /cep5os, gain 
by expectation, a poetical expression for the hope of gain, spes lucri. Creon 
intimates that Polynices' partisans might bribe some person to bury the 
corpse. The poet delicately reveals the low suspicion that is inseparable 
from tyranny. 

223. The watchman presents himself agitated and gasping for breath, 
which is the effect of terror rather than of haste. — viro rdxovs Bvsiruovs 
The Scholiast explains : fiera crirovdrjs acr^fxalvcov, panting with haste. 

225. (ppovridow iirio'Tdo'eis, stoppages for deliberation, pauses of anxious 
thought. 

226. 6do7s, by the ivay, dat. of place. — els auaa-rpocp^y, for the purpose 
of returning, zur Ruckkehr. Boeckh. 

227. fAv&ovfjLivn, saying. Such participles are often added. Ajax, 757 : 
e(p7] Xeycov. ^Esch., Agam., 205 : b\ml elire (powwv, dixit locutus. 

228 f. raXas and tX^/jlcov are to be regarded as exclamations, and as such 
are put in the nominative. Matth., 310. Adjectives so used have some- 
what the nature of predicates : miserable man that you are I There is 
therefore, no necessity to substitute, with Dindorf and others, the voc. 
tXtj/jlov, contrary to the authority of the MSS. 

228. 61, where, implies its antecedent eKelae. Woolsey. — dib*6vcu 
hiivqv, a judicial phrase answering to the Lat. dare poenas, suffer pimish- 
ment. 

229. kcl\. Wunder has Kei , from Cod. Laur. A., placing only a comma 
after avdpSs. But the short, broken sentences more naturally express the 
indecision of the watchman, who is a man of the lower class. 

230. drjr. See supra, at 218. How, then, will you not smart ? — aXyvvet 
intimates that he fears a flogging, or some other corporal punishment for 
neglect of duty. Schol. : ov TLfMooprj^ay. 

231. ¥jvvtov, I made my way, I came. — (rxoXfj raxvs is the reading 
preserved by the Scholiast, and generally adopted in place of fipafivs, 
found in the MSS. The phrase, however, does not mean, as Woolsey h -is 

.it, "leisurely fast," and Brunck: " cum tarditate celer ;" for (rxoXfj, in 
the tragic writers, means hardly, or scarcely. Comp. inf., 388 ; (Ed. Tyr., 
434. See Hermann's Tig., p. 57. It has the force of a negation, and 
ffxoXfj ra%vs , in keeping with v. 223 f., means by no means swift, that is, 



notes. 159 

§vs. This is evidently the view taken by Erfurdt cited by Hermann : 
"Yulgo fipadvs, quo vocabulo verba <rxoXrj rax^s exposita fuisse vi- 
dentur." 

233. iviKria'ei/ i in the absolute sense of potius fuit, prevailed, takes 
the words devp 3 fxo\elv (Toi for its subject. The verb denotes the decision 
of the mental struggle. See Xitsch ad Odyss., x., 46. Comp. 274. 
Demosth., Phil., i., § 51. The sense is : the counsel to come hither to thee 
prevailed. 

234. fjL7i$ev, nothing of consequence or value; not being able to say 
who is the perpetrator. 

235. deSpay/jLevos (5pacrcro/xai), clinging to. Dindorf prefers irecpapyfie- 
vos, fortified, L. munitus, with which the gen. would not be admissible. 
The vulg. is confirmed by the interpretation of the Scholiast : avrziXtiix- 
fxivos rris iX7r(dos iXrjXv&a, laying hold of this trust, etc. 

236. ira&eiv. This inf. depends on iXirlSos, as if it were written iXiri- 
£iwj>. The art. rb is superfluous, as in v. IS. Matth., 543, 2. — tt.v lends 
the verb a highly potential signification : that I cannot possibly suffer 
any thing else than what is fated. See Tig., Gr. Id., p. 481. The simple 
trust of the watchman, that nothing can befall him but what is allotted 
by destiny, is a genuine trait of popular fatalism. Cf. iEsch., Sept. 
c. Theb., 263 : irzi<roixa.i rb /j-opo-L^ov. It remains the same to this day among 
Oriental peoples. 

238. (ppdcrat — ru/navrov. I wish to tell you first what concerns myself 
i. e., my own share in the matter. 

240. diKaiws, deservedly. 

241. ev ye (TTox^h V ou are ver y guarded certainly. The common 
meaning of crToxa-C €cr & aL i t° a ' im i * s clearly unsuitable, there being no con- 
ceivable object to aim at. The king uses sarcastically a verb which ex- 
presses the watchman's anxiety to stave off a charge which has not yet 
been made. 2Toxa£ec&at is related to <noixK*Wi a hunting term origi- 
nally signifying to plant posts, with nets attached, around the haunts of 
wild beasts ; and, in a military sense, to plant palisades for defence. It 
thus acquires a meaning nearly akin to farcxpp&yvvcrai, as concinnity re- 
quires. 

242. rb 7rpayfjLa: a repetition of the watchman's words. Creon does 
not yet know what has happened. — Bn\o7s = StjXos el. 

243. yip refers to the first part of Creon's remark, that he was anx- 
i! ious to clear himself. The sense is : I do, for danger inspires great ap. 

prehension. 

244. An interrogation having the force of a command. Speak, then 
make haste and be off \ Matth., 511, 4. Comp. 885. — aira\\ax^(s in an 
absolute sense, having done. 



1G0 NOTES. 

215. The soldier is at length forced to speak : Fll tell you at once — 
kcu drj, conlinuo, jamjam. Herm., Yig., 528. 

247. i(payio-T€vcras a xpVi having performed the needful rites. 

248. ris avdp&i'; who in the world? The expression shows that Creon 
has as yet no suspicion of the real culprit. 

249. The yevn'ts was an instrument like a pickaxe or grubbing-hoe, 
Lat. ligo. SiKeAAw was an ordinary spade, and pressed into the ground by 
the aid of the foot. 

250. (TTvcpKos 5e yrj, but the ground was firm and dry, unbroken and 
unmarked by wheels. — ou5' iirvfxa^evfjLeuTj rpoxolo'iv, nee plaustri sulcata 
rotis. Brunck. The watchman verbosely brings in all imaginable 
means of stirring the ground, in order to deny the appearance of every 
trace". 

252. tcs gives the substantive a vague and indefinite character. It 
may be rendered : the doer, whoever he was, ivas without trace. See Witz- 
schel ad (Ed. Tyr., 107. Bernhardy, Gr. S., 441. 

253. The first day-watchman. Antigone had finished the act in the 
early twilight. 

254. iracri — iraprju, omnibus triste miraculum visum est. Brunck. — 
dvsxzpes conveys the idea of embarrassing, painful, because the discovery 
put the guard in fear for their own safety. 

255. 6 fj.lv, sc. the corpse of Polynices. — Tvpfi-fipris pev ov, not indeed 
buried in a grave. 

256. A€7rr?7 — kovls, but a thin covering of sand lay over it, as if some 
person shunned the curse. — (psvyovros is a gen. abs. with twos. Comp. 
Ajax., 998 : &s &eov twos. " Whoever," says the Schol., " saw an un- 
buried corpse, and did not cast some dust upon it, was deemed ac- 
cursed- (evay-fis) until he made expiation." This article of ancient 
belief is alluded to by Horace, Od., i., 28, 30 : Injecto ter pulvere 
curras. 

257. rov (sc. twos) kvvoov, of any sort of dog. — t\s with a substantive 
often denotes a kind or class, for which see Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., 441. 
Comp. 698 : olcav&v tiv6s. 

258. o"ird<ravTos i usually interpreted gnawing or lacerating the corpse, 
is perhaps better explained by the Scholiast, who finds in this word a 
reference to the habit of wolves, bears, dogs, etc., which, when they have 
partly eaten their prey, scratch the dust over it to keep it for another 
visit. The possible supposition that the body was so covered was not 
confirmed by any trace. 

259. iv a\\y)\oi<Tiv, inter nos, is not used very strictly. The idea is, 
that recriminations and abuse were mutually exchanged. Angry speeches 
were uttered in regard to each other 



NOTES. 161 

260. $>vAag iXeyxw &v\. is a constructio ad sensum : as if ippo^rovuev 
had pi : In Bemhardy's Gr. Syntax ii is termed a syntactic appo- 
sition, of which numerous exau : found in the poets. Of a par- 
allel passage in JEsch., Prom., 200: o-ri-.s r h hW^Xoiaiv wpo&virero, 
ol fihf dreXoyres . . . ol os o-ttzvjovtss, and in£ 1002. 

261. reXevrcccr 1 as alv. fin :>' 7 y. Matth., 5 ■: » S . — owS" 6 KtaXvffav raprjv, 
nor was any one by to prevent ii. The article 6 here has the nature of an 
indefinite pronom tg some pei Lor authority or p 
Comp. Aristoph., Pac., 614: obzir r : v ovdeh 6 wawrair, r> ; erat 
quisquam, qui haec sedaret. Ben 118. Soph., Elect., 1197 : ov5 3 6 

K0)\V<TUV TT&pZ. 

262. els- tis eKzjTos. ? I The sense of the passage is : 
each was suspected by the others of I ' oerpetrator^ and - 

dent, that is. there was no evidence against any one. 

2 6 3. a.vV eOevye u-/] el'Ssvzi, supply the subject eKaarrSs ris, 

one shunned the knowledge of it, denied knowing any thing about it. — 
(pevyeiv, like verbs of fearing v h i: is classed by K \\ 

§ 306 i, takes aif after it pleonastically. Alike a is : and in 

Eurip., Heraclidae, 507: (pev£6ue<j$a uv; xtaveiv. The MSS. have a buj ;- 
fluous art. to after e&evye. 

264. Each one. in proof of his inn< rs to undergo the oi 

by fire, and to take a solemn oath. Brnnck an - find in this pas- 

sage a trace of the superstition which so long prevailed among the north- 
ern nations, especially the Germanic peoples of the middle ages. The 
devices by which the accus t to establisl onocence, though 

varying in : omon nam:. a Dei; 

Germ.. Gottes Gericht. Be a VaL ITaximus. S, 9. There is no 

proof, however, that these tests were ever legally re among the 

Greeks or Romans. 

265. or ovdep l)v (f),u?v) ip. v\iov. The sense ; 
J. by our in Matf .1. 

, \eyei tis els. s makes a proposition^ viz., to report the 

matter to you. Before stating what the proposition was (as hrourriop 
crol rovpyov tchman describes its startling effect upon the com- 

pany. 

271. ov& (enrcZr) ovas dpavres, etc. The sense is : nor say by what 
course of action we should L e., get out of the dirz. 

Comp. Eurip.. Phcen., 926 : a Sp^yres av o't&o'aiTe KaSfieuav -6\iv. — ott&s 
dpeevres. in the sense of orco t porta rpdrrovres, and koXcos —pij-aiusv = ei>- 
Tvxho'aiuep. . Cf. Stallbaum ad Plat.. Crit., v. D. 

274. teal ravr* hri fttz, and this ■: ti u : _ mailed. Comp. 233. 

275. Kc&aipei, condemns, a judicial term. Pollux, viii., 15. Eurip., 



1C2 NOTES. 

Orest., 853 : /ca^eTAov fifias, KaireKvpucrav Saveiv. — rovro Tayc&bv is said 
ironically. 

278. fir] Ti y nonne, whether — not, an indirect interrogation. Cf. 1253. 
Herm. ad Vig., p. 808. 

280. \4yuv agrees in case with <xv, the subject of irava-ai, and of the 
infin. /j.ecrTu)(rai. Graeci enim, ubi participium vel adjectivum infinitivo 
jungunt, casum, qui praecesserat, ad quemque illud pertinet, servare 
solent. Erfurdt. See Matth., 536. — opyrjs Kai, with anger even, implying 
that he already felt contempt for the superstitious weakness which could 
imagine that such an act could be performed without human agency. 

281. Zest you be found both old and silly at once, although age is com- 
monly said to bring wisdom. Cf. (Ed. Col., 930 f. The Scholiast re- 
marks : evavriov yap 7} &voia r£ yypa* 

284. v7r€pTijj.o0VTes, unduly honoring, i. e., honoring him above his de- 
serts, mistaking an enemy for a benefactor. 

285. osris, in addition to its office as a relative, conveys some notion 
of generality, a man who came to burn, etc. Comp. Ajax., 474. 

286. Temples and offerings are regarded as things of like nature, be- 
ing both dedicated to the gods. 

287. yijv iiceivav. Cf. Thuc, 11, 74. In the ancient Grecian religion 
those divinities were regarded as the rightful possessors of a country, in 
whom the moral idea of the people was embodied, and whose worship, 
therefore, being inseparably interwoven and blended with all their social 
and political institutions, was an essential condition of national existence. 
Thus the civil and religious institutions, standing upon the same basis 
and united into one system, were equally invested with divine authority. 
Consequently, when Polynices brought a hostile force to aid him in depos- 
ing his brother Eteocles, he was denounced as the enemy of the gods. — yrju 
is used in the sense of iro\iv. Plato frequently connects v6\is and v6{jloi, 
ZiasK&wv poetically for airo\4(rcap. Notice that Creon artfully attributes 
to the gods his own incensed feelings and unworthy motives. 

288. The particle ^ in the second member of the question, for which 
see Matth., § 619, is used for putting the same question in a stronger 
and more general form, to which there can be but one answer. — ovk 
ecrTLv, impossible. 

289. ravra, the object of cpipovres, refers to the odious edict. — na\ 
iraXai, jam pridem. Comp. Trachin., 87 ; Philoct., 966. — ir6\ecos &vdpes = 
ttoXltcov rives, TVunder interprets : sed haec (i, e., edictum de Polynice 
non sepeliendo) dudum cives nonnulli aegre ferentes obmurmurarunt mihi. 

292. SiKalws, didy, i. e., submissively. Hermann cites Eustathius on 
this passage : oi>5 5 virb (vyw v&tov cv\6cpcos e?xop. The metaphor, says 
the Schol., is drawn from ill-broken oxen. — &s (Tripysiv e^e, so as to like 



XOTES. 163 

me, i. e., to have a loyal attachment to my government. — us, like wsre, 
denotes the result. Comp. infra, 303 : cos Sovvai 8(kt]v. 

293. rovrovs, these watchmen. — Traprjjfiepovs. Schol. : fprarTifiivovs, 

corrupted. 

295. Construct : yap oudhu vo/jllct/jl e/3Aao"Te Kaxhv avhp&Ttoicnv olov 
apyvpos. The sense : for no institution has existed as jxrnicious to man- 
kind as money. — No7uo>ta est institutum. Herra. Compare Felton's 
" Clouds," p. 126. 

296. tovto, though assimilated in gender to vSpurpa, refers to apyv- 
pos. — Ka\ 7r6\€Ls, even whole states. 

298. In this sentence e/cSiSacr/cee is the chief verb, on which the inf. 
'tcTTacr&ai depends. The order of construction : rooe irapaWd&crei xpV°" r ^s 
<pp4vas fiporwv Kal e/c5i§acr/cei [auras] 'icrrao'^ai Trpbs a*cr%pa irpdyfiara. — 
ftrracTrBaj 7rpbs, to incline toward. Thuc, vi., 34 : raV 5e av&puwcoi/ irpbs 
ra Xeyoixeva at yvuixai 'iaravrai. Id., iv., 34. 

300. e5ej|ez/. The Greeks often use the aorist ind. to express a gen- 
eral truth derived from experience or observation. Grammarians dis- 
tinguish it as the frequentative aorist, because it represents a fact as 
occurring frequently, or habitually. It must be translated as a present. 
SeeKiihner's Gr. Gr., § 256, 4 ; Bernhardy, Gr. Syntax, p. 382 ; and Felt on" s 
learned exposition of this idiom in his notes to Aristoph., " Clouds," p. 
157 ff. — %x* iv ma y be- taken in the sense of a<TX€?v, to practise. It shows 
men how to practise knavish tricks. 

301. Svscrefieiav etSeycu, to be versed in the wickedness, etc. "Das 
Wissen aber," says Boeckh, " ist ein thatiges TVissen." It is a practical 
knowledge. In the same way, Homer says of the Cyclops, Odyss., ix., 
189: aSe/Mcma fjdri ; and Eurip., Helen.. 932: Si/cara fxyj eWevaL. Xotice 
the gradation in vice : atV%pa, iravovpyias, SvscrefieLav. . 

302. After these general reflections upon the evils caused by the lust 
of gain, Creon reverts to the thought expressed in 294, that the perpe- 
trators were hired by his secret enemies : but those who have done this 
thing for pay have at last effected that they (the instigators) should suffer 
punishment, that is, have rendered them amenable to justice. For, as 
Wunder observes, the words XP^ VC 9 ^ot seems to refer to Kal irakai, v. 
289. Schneidewin takes the same view : " Kreon legt in seine TTorte 
den Sinn : die Thiiter haben bewirkt dass die Anstifter gestraft werden 
konnen." For, if Creon thinks to punish only the actual doers, it is dim- 
cult to see a reason for using the words XP^^V nor, postremo. 

305. eu tout 5 eTTio-Tacro, be assured of this. Cf. Herod., 7, 39. 

306. auT^%6ipa, the actual perpetrator. 

307. euocWes itcfpave'LT, expressed in English by two verbs : find and 
produce. 



164 NOTES. 

308. ovxv^iv . . . apKecrei, mere death shall not be a sufficient punish- 
ment for you. — irplu av. Before these words there is an ellipsis, which 
may be supplied by ov irpSrepov &ave?cr&e, or some equivalent expres- 
sion. 

309. (wvres Kpe/jtacrrol, i. c., suspended or tied up with a rope to a 
pillar or ladder, to be flayed alive, a species of torture often inflicted 
upon slaves, either as a punishment, or for the purpose of extorting a 
confession. Cf. Aristoph., " Frogs," 618 : iv KXi/xaKi d-qa-as Kpefid<ras vcrrpi- 
Xidt fJLacTTiy&v, depcov, (rrpefiXoov. Horn., Od., 175 if. Ajax, 108. — vfipiv, 
the offence is put for the person who committed the offence. 

310. It is a bitter mockery in Creon to give warning to the guards 
for the time when they will be no more. Comp. Ajax, 100 : Savovres 
yjdr) rafJL acj)aip€L(r^cx)j/ oirXa. 

311. a/?7ra^T6, supply e/ce?. The present tense is employed because 
rb Xonrbv implies a continuation of their present evil practice. 

313. robs irXeiovas. The article with iroXvs, or the compar. nXe'iovs. 
has the signification of a superlative. Matth., 265. The sense: for you 
tcill find far more people ruined than preserved by ill-gotten gains. 

315. emetv 5e Sdoo-eis. This reading of MS. Laur. is adopted by 
Boeckh and Schneidewin ; vulg. ri ddbtfeis. The Schol. correctly inter- 
prets : iiriTptyeis Kal ifiol elirelv, 77 aireXfroo ; The sense : but will you per- 
mit me to speak, or shall I go so ? that is, without further explanation. 
Cf. Philoct., 1067: aXX* ourccs airei ; 

3-16. Kal vvv refers to the preceding question, which appears disre- 
spectful. Do you not see how offensively you talk even now ? The Schol. : 
Kal vvv yap Xeycov aviapos fxoi e?. 

317. Sdavei is taken as active by the Scholiast : Zawei <re rb irpax&zv. 
But 6 Xoyos ifj.ovJ.s the subject, if any is to be supplied. Ajax, 1119: 
ra crKXrjpa yap rol, kclv vTrepfiiit fj, daKvei. 

318. pv&fjit^eis, do you sound, i. e., explore, where my pain is? The 
verb signifies here an attempt to find out the real locality of the pain, 
whether at the surface or internal. — ottov, sc. £<rri. 

320. ofyi ws aXtj/na, ah, how evidently you are a thorough-bred knave ! — 
'dX-rj/jLa in the sense of iravovpyos. Cf. Ajax, 381, 389. 

321. oukovv, non igitur, non vero. Herm., Vig., 450. The sense is: 
yet I have not done this deed at least.- — ovkow — ye seems to concede the 
truth of Creon's charge, that he is a cunning scamp, while it is an em- 
phatic denial of the present charge. — iroLTjaas, sc. el/A. Schneidewin ren- 
ders : mag sein, diese That aber habe ich wenigstens nicht gethan. 

322. This verse is a continuation of 320. Creon reaffirms his opin- 
ion that he is the hired tool of others. 

323. The watchman thinks that Creon wilfully persists in believing 



NOTES. 165 

him guilty. The sense is : it is really dreadful, when a man is determined 
at any rate to believe what is false. Such is, in substance, the interpreta- 
tation of Boeckh : " wahrlich schlhnm, wemgut diinkt dass ihm Falsches 
diinke, d. h., schlimm wenn Jemand beschlossen hat, Falsches zu glau- 
ben." Brunck renders in nearly the same sense : Vahf malum est pro- 
fecto, si quis apud se constituit falsa consiituere. — o> in the general sense 
of or co. Cf. Eurip., Ion., 501. 

324. ko/jl\\/€V6 vvv t)\v So£av is sarcastic : refine now upon this opinion/ 
that is, bring out some pretty phrases about the danger of false impres- 
sions. The Scholiast explains Ko^eve by creixvoXoyei, talk gravely. — 8o'£av 
in the sense of the preceding SoKeiv. — ravra, obj. of Spcovras. 

325. e|ep6?3- 5 — ipydCerai, you shall acknowledge that base gains work 
out trouble. — " ra SeiAa KepSrj dicit, quia ignavi est lucri causa clam illi- 
cita facere." Yv^under. After these words the king retires from the 
stage. 

327. evpe&drj, sc. 6 dp&v. For the opt. expressing a wish, see Matth., 
513, 4. — jxaKicrra fiev, followed by el Se jj.7], signifies by all means — but if 
not. Lat. : ante omnia — sin minus. Herm., Viger, p. 416. In this pas- 
sage, instead of the simple alternative expressed by ei 5e /x?7 in the second 
member, we have a larger combination of particles, denoting a double 
condition, lav — re nai are put for lav re — lav -re, utrum an. Herm., 
ad Yig., 832. The passage may be rendered : / wish, certainly, that he 
may be detected by all means, but whether he is caught or not, etc. 

328. rovro — Kpive? is parenthetical, for fortune will determine that; 
i. e., his detection will depend upon chance, owing to the entire want of 
evidence against any one. 

329. ovk e<rd- 5 ottccs is an adv. phrase, in no wise. German : auf keine 
Weise. Host, Parallelgram. der Gr. und Lat. Spr., p. 467. Herm., Yig., 
235. Matth., 482, 2. 

332. Creon and the watchman have left the stage. The astounding 
fact announced by the latter, that some person had had the audacity to 
brave the tyrant's authority, and the adroitness to avoid detection, sug- 
gests the theme of the following ode. The Chorus, which remains 
grouped upon and around the thymele, sings the incredible daring and 
craftiness of man, as exhibited in his triumphs over the natural elements 
and the brute creation, and in the cunning inventions by which he has 
meliorated his own condition. But he is powerful for evil as well as for 
good, and abuses his intelligence by perverting justice and the laws. The 
man who is guilty of such acts, though the chief of the state, is a traitor ; 
with such avoid all fellowship. 

TloWa ra deiva. There are many mighty things, and none mightier than 
man, i. e., man is the mightiest of all. The adj. deivSrepov is to be under- 



1(56 NOTES. 

stood in its largest sense — mighty for good and also for mischief; for the 
entire ode is taken up in developing this main thought. Comp. a similar 
sentiment in iEsch., Choeph., 585 If: iroXXa fxkv ya rpe<p€i deiva deijj.&Tcov 
&%77, . . . aXX 3 viripToXfxov avdpbs (ppSurjfia ris Xeyoi ; 

334. rovro, viz., rb ylvos rwv ap^pco-rrcou. Schol. The pronoun is 
assimilated in gender to ovfiev — deivSrepov, and more poetical than outos, 
as it suggests a comparison between the human being and the inferior 
orders of animals. It retains, however, a masculine signification, for 
which reason the participles 7repoou and 7roAeiW are used in their natural 
gender. — iroXiou iripav it6vto'j — x^P^y traverses the sea whitened (i. e., 
lashed into foam) by the storm-wind, when navigation is most danger- 
ous. — iroXiov alludes to the crests of the waves, commonly called white 
caps. Comp. iEsch., Pers., 110. The expression dunhle Flut des Meeres, 
employed by Boeckh and Hartung, is inappropriate. Compare the lan- 
guage of Horace describing the daring of the first navigator, Odes, i., 
3, 9: 

Uli robur et aes triplex 

Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci 
Commisit pelago ratem 

Primus ; nee timuit praecipitem Africum 
Decertantem Aquilonibus, 

Nee tristes Hyadas, nee rabiern Noti. 

Upon this passage Cardinal Desprez remarks : " Sophocles in Antigone 
ait multa quidem cerni stupenda, at nihil magis quam quod homo fluctus 
tumidos navicula tamen subire non formidet." 

336. irepccu viro -Ktpi$pvx}oicnv o^jaacnv, ploughiny under the surging 
waves. These words mark the moments of greatest danger, when heavy 
seas break over the ship, and threaten to engulf her. The Scholiast 
says that a vessel entirely submerged is termed viro^p^xioy, and a wave 
passing over it is irepiPpvxiov. 

338. When Kai — re are used in coordinate sentences, the weaker par- 
ticle T6 serves to connect something of less significance. It means here 
that reducing the land to subjection is a less wonderful exhibition of 
human power than the conquest of the sea. — virepTarau, supremam, an 
epithet applied to Ta, Terra, because she is the mother and nourisher of 
all creatures, and hence worthy to be held in the highest veneration. 
Solon, 28, 3, cited by Schneidewin, calls her ixeyia-rr) SaifxSvow 'OXv/jlttiw, 
and Virgil, iEn., vii., 136, primamque Deorum Tellurem. Cf. Hesiod, 
Theog., 117. The Chorus in Philoct., 392, apostrophizes her as TrajjLpaJTi 
Ta, fjLarep avrov Aibs, nutrix omnium Rhea, mater ipsius Jovis. 

339. airoTpverai, vexes, harasses, viz., by the wounds inflicted in culti- 
vation. Comp. Ov., Metam., ii., 286 : adunci vulnera aratri rastrorumque 



NOTES. 167 

fero, totoque exerceor anno. The passage presents a graphic picture of 
man's restless labors in making the ground subservient to his advan- 
tage. 

340. dXoixivcav aporpcav (others, Iwo^evuv), while the plough turns from 
year to year. The part. el\oij.ei/coy is probably intended to signify the re- 
volving motion of the plough around what is technically called the land. 
Comp. Buttmann, Lexil., ii., p. 156. Some have considered it to mean 
turning over the clods ; but the shape of the ancient ap6rpov (aratrum), 
which was little else than a straight pointed piece of wood, was not 
adapted to turning over the soil like the curved ploughshare of modem 
times. Ploughing then must have consisted in simply tearing or scratch- 
ing the surface, which is here denoted by TroAeiW. The neut. iroXevov is 
retained by Hermann. — l-mreia) yhsi, with the equine race, including horses 
and mules. Schol. : rais Ti/buovais. The latter were used for this service 
in preference to oxen. Cf. Horn., II., x., 352. 

343. Kov(pov6(t)V) light-minded. Comp. Theognis, 582 : cr/juKp?is opv&os 
Kovcpov exovcra v6ov. — afAfpLfiaXcbv &yef, carries away captive by ensnaring ; 
to be connected with cnrelpcuo-L Slkt. 

345. dvakiav cpvcriv, marinum genus. So Virgil calls the fish aequore- 
um genus. Cf. (Ed. Tyr., 869 : (pvcris avipcav, genus hominum. Lucretius, 
i., 16 : natura anirnantium. The lordship which man is here said to ex- 
ercise over the lower creation is beautifully illustrated in Ps. viii. 6 ff. 

347. TT€pi(ppad7]s awfjp. These words placed at the end seem to express 
the Chorus's admiration of man's superior intelligence : inventive man ! 
Theocritus, xv., 83, says : ao(p6v roi XPVP ay^poj-iros. Hermann prefers 
api<ppaZT)s. 

349. Kpare?, reduces to subjection, tames and domesticates for his ser- 
vice. The Schol. explains : ob yap ja6vov Kpar?](rai §vvqlt6s, aWa. koX ri&aiT- 

(T€V<Tai, 

350. opea-cTL^dra, Dor. gen. Sheep and goats are especially alluded 
to. 

351. 'lttkiov u^tcll a/j.<pi \6<pov. The MSS. have 'ittttou, which, as the 
metre requires a dactyle, Boeckh changed into the adj. 'Uttlov — 'iitttov. 
Woolsey adopts Brunck's emendation, %-rrirov &7ra£eTcu. The fut. denotes 
customary action, and is used instead of a present. Matth., 503. The 
sense is : and he brings (or binds) the yoke upon the shaggy-maned horse's 
neck, and upon the untiring mountain bull. The Scholiast explains in a 
similar sense : TrepifiaXcbv avrcp £vybv irepl top \6(pov, virdyzi. The passage 
is manifestly corrupt, but, though it has come down to us sadly mended 
and patched, yet enough remains of the original to show the poet's gen- 
eral meaning. 

Strophe 2. — Passing from man's conquests over inanimate and ani- 



168 NOTES. 

mated Nature, the poet next considers the improvement and cultivation 
of man himself. Having noticed navigation (including commerce) and 
agriculture under the former head, he now contemplates the human being 
in a more advanced stage of development. He has invented language, 
science, civil government, house and clothing to protect him against cold 
and storm, and remedies against diseases. He is prepared for every exi- 
gency but death ; from this alone he is unable to escape. 

352. cp&eyfxa, faculties dicendi, eloquentia. TVunder. It means lan- 
guage in a refined and cultivated form, in which poetry, and perhaps 
music, may be included. The Schol. : r)]v avSpwirivriv ZioK^lv. — rjpe/jiSev 
(bpovYi/JLa. The definition of the Scholiast ; tt)v irtp\ ra>v ^ere^pcoy (piXocro- 
<piav, is probably too limited ; cpp6u7}/j.a denotes here the results of thought, 
and comprises all abstract science. For it is manifest that the terms here 
employed to designate the acquisitions of the human mind are to be un- 
derstood in a pregnant sense. The epithet ave/jiSev is thought to allude 
to the air, that is, the breath, as the vehicle of expression. Boeckh ex- 
plains it, " die hiftige Weisheit, wie sie im Hauch ausgesprochen wird." 
It may also refer to the subtle nature of philosophical speculations. 
From philosophy the poet comes naturally to civil government. — a(nvv6- 
nous dpyas, political tastes and habits, considered by some the offspring of 
philosophy. Cic, Tusc, v., 2 : vitae Philosophia dux, . . . tu urbes 
peperisti, tu dissipatos homines in societatem vitae convocasti, tu eos 
litterarum et vocum communione junxisti . . . tu invent rix legum, etc. 
Brunck : civiles mores. 

355. ididd£aro. Moschopulus, in Att, diet., explains by icpevpe, in- 
vented. Coray : avrbs eavrhv eSi5a|e, the pronoun being taken collec- 
tively. The mid. voice has here a strictly reciprocal meaning, mankind 
have taught one another ; for language, science, and civil polity, are re- 
garded as the united product of the human mind in the course of its 
gradual development. Sophocles favors the doctrine of Pythagoras 
and the Eleatic philosophers, that language was not innate, but conven- 
tionally established. Comp. Cic, Tusc, L, 25. Hor., Sat,, i., 3, 102 : 

Donee verba, quibus voces sensusque notarent, 
Xominaque invenere. 

3o*7. (bevyeiv, inf. obj. of ididd^aro. Construct : kcu tpevyeiv inrai&peia 
(j8e'Ai7) dvsavAow irdyvv not Svsoixfipa ^e\rj. The sense : and to escape the 
rigors of the night-frosts and the shafts of the storm. The MSS. have 
cu&pia, which Boeckh, for the sake of the metre, emended to wrai&peia, 
according to iEsch., Agam., 335 : vnai&plwv irdyuv. Helmke : iped- 
&peia. 

360. iravToirSpos, full of resources. Brunck: ad omnia ingeniosm ; 



NOTES. Ig9 

consilii inops ad nihil quod est futurum, accedit. — iravTOTtopos, at the close 
of the sentence, like -rr$pi(ppa.Vqs avrip (343), expresses the admiration of 
the Chorus. Constr. : ipx^~^i eV obSeu rb fxeXXov arropos. The sense : 
he ventures upon no contingency without resource, 

361. "Ai5a, Dor. gen., dependent on cpev^ip, which takes the same con- 
struction as (pvyr). Cf. JSsch., Choeph.. 254 : (fnryfyp dofuw. The Schol. : 
&a.v&Tov ixsvqv ovx ^p^ tapot [remedy). The verb iird^srai is to be re- 
garded as an ethical future, denoting ability. Bernh., Gr. Synt, 377. He 
will not be able to find an escape from death, because it is impossible. 

364. £v l u7ricppa(TTaL, p. pass, for mid. Afatth., Gr., § 493. The sense : 
but he has devised remedies of desperate diseases, 

Axtistrophe 2. — Man endowed with surprising powers sometimes 
veutures upon wrong and injustice. Here we find a direct allusion to the 
action of the play : to Creon's arbitrary edict in contravention of the 
divine law, and to Antigone's violation of it in maintaining the divine 
law. Both were in the wrong. Witschel justly remarks : " The Chorus 
speaks of an improper application of human and divine laws, by which 
the shrewd and clever man, especially when he is high in the state (fyi- 
vroXis), will seek to justify himself and his acts. Creon, while fixing his 
eye only upon human law, and intent upon securing its observance, was 
guilty of passionately violating the divine right ; Antigone, on the other 
hand, appealing to the divine law, transgressed the king's command, and 
was guilty of disobedience to the sovereign power and the state." 

365. (To<p6v ti . . . tx&Vi possessing a cunning craftiness of art beyond 
his expectations. rix vas t Dor. for r?)s rex^ns. — birep iXirida. The powers 
of the civilized man, developed and trained by education, exceed what he 
could have even dreamed of in his ruder state. 

366. vote fiep im kcucop . . . epirei, at one time pursues evil, etc. This 
is here the chief thought, and therefore placed first. — eon-ci = Px5i(ei. 

367. irapeipccp, found in the MSS., has been rejected by some editors, 
as not suited to the context. Boeckh defends it. It signifies inserting 
and incorporating something foreign and incongruous, and hence subvert- 
ing. The whole scope of the passage requires the sense of crime to be 
attached to the word ; otherwise there would be no force in the conclud- 
ing words : " May he who does such things not be my fireside compan- 
ion!" The correct interpretation is given by Brunck : leges evertens pa- 
triae, deorumque sacrum fas (as Creon has done). 

370. vrpliroXts. The Schol. explains : o £~riv ip t?j iroXu v^tjXSs, who 
is high in the state. Some punctuate after BiKap. — clttoXls is here lawless, 
a traitor to the state and deserving of banishment. — fir) simply gives to 
koXop a negative signification, to /j.tj kxXov is equivalent to rb ko.k6p, 
baseness, moral turpitude. Hence TVunder renders : indignus civitate si 

8 



170 NOTES. 

cui turpitudo adhaeret audaciac gratia, i. e., si quis turpiter facit audaciae 
indulgens. Some MSS. have 5e after airoXis. 

374 f. The Chorus concludes with the wish to have no fellowship 
with such a bad citizen, either in public or private life. — napeo-nos, a 
fireside companion, a personal friend. — 'icrov (ppovwv signifies one of the 
same political sentiments or party. Cf. Dem., Phil., hi., 18, and infra, 
510. 

376. The Chorus now announces the entrance of Antigone, conducted 
by the watchman. , The prep, es (els) may be rendered in respect to, quod 
attinet ad. See Matth., Gr., 578. — repots. A princess of the blood royal 
guarded like a common felon was a prodigy almost too wonderful to be 
believed. 

377. Construct: irws avriXoyi\(To) rrjvde ira?^ elvai ovk. 'AvTLySvrjv eldoos 
(ehai). — ovk is here pleonastic. 

381. ov $7} irov express incredulity. — ere ye is emphatic, surely not — 
you. 

382. airayovo-i. Altered by Boeckh from the vulg. fryovo-i. The 
former being the Attic term to signify bringing directly before a judge 
one taken in a criminal act. 

383. /cad-eAcWes may be rendered as aAovaav, caught. 

384. "HS'. The demonstrative pron., o'Se ?j5e r6$e, is often used in an 
adv. sense, here, there, particularly in announcing the entrance of a char- 
acter upon the stage. See Matth., 471. 

386. e\'s §£ov, as an adverb of time, opportunely, seasonably. (Ed. T., 
1416 : is deov irdpecr^ ode. In the same sense the adj. ^vfi/jLerpos. 

388. aircbjULOTOj/ refers to his vow not to return, v. 329. Brunck : nihil 
est abjurandum. — iiriuoia, reflection. Schol. : at Bevrepai eppovrides, like 
our "sober second thought." 

390. ifyvxovv (e|aux€co). Construct: eVel eyk e^nvxoov o~xoAfj notf 
av rfeeiv devpo. For av with the fut. ^eiv, Matth., Gr., 598, a. 

391. cbreiAcus, dat. of cause, Matth., 398. Kender: on account of 
those threats of yours by which I was then assailed, alluding to 309. 

392. e/crbs kolL irapd. Such a union of these prepositions is probably 
unexampled in Grecian literature. With euros understand eAiridwv. Cf. 
330. — yap, referred to ^kg), assigns the reason parenthetically. Matthiae 
(Gr., 615) separates thus : aAA' — rj yap e/crbs . . . r)Bovfj — '/jkco, etc. 

393. jjLrjKoSj und. Kara, in greatness. The Schol. explains by els to 
fieye&os. 

394. 8t' optcoov . . . aircb/jLOTos may be rendered : notwithstanding my 
oath, with particular allusion to 338. Schol. : Kaiirep b^ixoKibs jj.t] eA- 
&e?v. The expression is not more pleonastic than the Homeric opKov 
wig® 



NOTES. 171 

395. rd<pov Koo'/xova'a, while performing the burial-rites, which, in the 
present case, consisted merely in covering the body with dust, and pour- 
ing the triple libation. Cf. 429 seqq. — eVaAAero. The lots were usually 
placed in a helmet and shaken till one of them fell out. Allusion is made 
to 275. 

397. Sovpixaiov (to epfxaiov). A treasure or prize found unexpectedly 
was supposed to be thrown in the finder's way by the favor of Hermes^ 
and was named after that god. The word was used synonymously with 
evrvxniJ-oL, good fortune. They are found connected in Plato's Symposi- 
um, p. 217: epfiaiov rjyTjcdfjLTjv elyai kclI evrvxv^ ifibv &avfAao~T6v, See 
Stallbaum ad. Plat. Gorg., p. 195. 

399. Kptve /ca£eAeyxe, convict and judge her, as in iEschylus, Eumen., 
433 : 'AAA 1 ij-€\eyxe, Kp?pe 8' ev&elav dUrju. Comp. also Soph., Ajax., 
587. — i\ev&€pos, acquitted of the charge, as inf., 445. 

400. dixaiSs eifiL, I deserve ; or it may be rendered impersonally, as if it 
were SIkcliSv ia-riv ifie a.7nj\\dx^cti rcovSe kclkwv, according to Matth., Gr 
§ 296. — kolkuv means the punishment threatened, supra, 309. 

401. t£ (sc. tivC) rpoiro) ird^rev contains a double question, how and 
where, as in Aristoph., Plut., 335 : ttS&ev kclI rivi rpoirco, unde et quomodo. 
Hartung wrongly interperets rpSirw, purpose, for this was sufficiently ex- 
plained in v. 395. — XajSdov, catching. 

402. The imperf. e&airre, was burying, answers to the question how 
and where, intimating that she was caught in the act. Cf. 404. 

403. IwUis. Some MSS. ^vvItjs. 

405. aTTZLTras. The order : rbv veitpbv ov <rv air€?Tras [frdirr eivj. 

406. oparai, in the sense of an aorist. See Kiihner's Gr., § 255, 1. 
A similar connection of the present and aorist is found in Ajax, 31 : <ppd- 
£ei re Ka^Xwcreu, u retulit et indicavit." — iiriXrjirros = en- 5 avrocpatpcp 
aXova-a, taken in the very act, is somewhat redundant. 

407. riKOfiev. The king's threats (v. 309) included the whole company, 
hence the plural. Concerning the ace, ra Seiv eweu/a, see Matthiae, Gr., 
§ 424, 2. Render : menaced by you with those dreadful punishments. 

411. &Kpu>v in irdycou, upon the summit of the hill, from which they 
could observe the body. Woolsey explains : " /caS-T^eft' e« is a construc- 
ts pracgnans ; the sense is : sitting and watching from" Matth., 596, 3. 
— vir-fivefioi does not necessarily mean to the leeward of the body, but aver si 
vento, with our backs to the wind. Schol. : ovk evavrlov rod auefiov, dAA' 
iarpaiifxevoi airb rod avifxov, oircos fity (peprj irpbs r^as tj\v ocrfi^v. 

413 f. Man sharply inciting man with harsh reproaches if any should 
neglect this task. — acpefi-ficroi = afjieX^croi. Comp. 259. ■ — i7rippv&ois. 
Schol. : Aoi$6pois, v^picrriKols. — Kcucd as subst. convicia. 

417. KCLvfi efraXire, the heat was scorching. — x&oj/bs is the gen. of that 



172 NOTES. 

from which any thing proceeds, as in Philoct., 630 : veojs dyovra. Comp. 
several examples collected by Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., p. 137. Construct: 
TV(poos aelpas crKvirrbv (airb) x&ovbs — ovp. a%os, a whirlwind raising a storm 
(sc, of dust) from the earth, a heavenly disorder, that is, one convulsing 
the heavens, as disease does the body. Boeckh interprets oupduiou as re- 
ferring to the vastness of the storm, ebi himmelhohes Weh. The view of 
the Scholiast is more poetical : rb Xvitovu rbv albipa, kc&o rapaacrei avrbv, 
and is confirmed by the words below, &eiav v6<rov. 

420. iv 5e, and at the same time. For iv used adverbially, see Herm., 
ad Yig., p. 851. 

421. ij.v(raPT€s, shutting our eyes. The watchman mentions this as an 
excuse why he and his companions did not observe Antigone's approach. 
This description of a storm, so violent as to make the hardy watchmen 
cower, exhibits the unshrinking devotion of the heroine in the strongest 
light. 

422. tov& ((Tkvtttov), and this storm having subsided after a long time. 
— iu xpdvy fJ-ciKpw, post longum tempus. Br. as in Philoct., 235. 

423. avoLKbiKvei . . . <f>&6yyov, utters the shrill cry of a bird in distress. 
Musgr. : maestae volucris. Comp. (Ed. Col., 1610: aKovei <p&6yyov irutpov. 
The expression KeuTjs evvys — Ae^os is overloaded. The sense : as when 
she (the mother-bird) sees her empty nest-bed bereft of young ones. With 
&s understand iriKpa upvis avaKcaitvei. Cf. Horn., Od., xvi., 215 f. In the 
word Kevrjs the consequence of opcpavov veocrarcop is anticipated, as in Yirg., 
JEn., iv., 588 : vacuos sensit sine remige portus. 

427. 4k — rjpaTOj and uttered dire imprecations. A rare eximple of 
tmesis in an Attic writer. 

430. dpdrjv (akin to aipca), uplifted. Schneidewin's supposition, that 
she carried the pitcher upon her head, is scarcely probable, when we con- 
sider the violence of the storm which she had passed through. Cf. Elect., 
54 : ppfxiuoi xepoiv- 

431. x oc " <TL rpio"ir6vSoi(ri, A triple libation composed of wine, milk, 
and honey (sometimes oil or water, Odyss., xi., 26), was poured three 
times over the dead, either separately or mixed. Here Antigone brings 
them probably already mixed in the pitcher. — o-Te^ei, honorat. Electra, 
53. Schol. : Kocrfxe?, rrepippalvei. 

432. le/jLev&a, we ran thither. Sch. : wpfx^coei/. — vbv is separated by 
tmesis from its verb. Brunck : irruimus eamque comprehendimus ilico. — 
ovdhv iKireTrXrjyiuLEvrjv is similar to our expression, nothing daunted. 

434. irp6or&ep — re vvv, the former and the present, adv. used as adjec- 
tives. Herm., Yig., p. 376. The personal ace. vw <to be supplied from 
the preceding. Matth., 421, 1. 

436. a/j? 7)d4a)s. So Dindorf and others, instead of oAA* tjSws, found 



NOTES. 173 

in MSS. Render : to my joy, and, at the same time, to my sorrow. Comp. 
Plat., Gorg., 496, 497. 

438. rovs cplAovs, because the watchmen were formerly house-servants 
of (Edipus. Schneidewin. 

439. \a$e7v, simple for the comp. viroXafielv, to take into account, con- 
sider. Thucyd., vi., 27 : rb irpay/jia fxei^oj/cas eXafifiavov. Brunck ren- 
ders : Verum omnia istaprae mea salute minoris pendenda sunt. The inf. 
is appended loosely, in the same way as in Elect., 1016 : Tlpovoias ouSev 
av&pctiTTois e(pv icepdos Aafie?v &fAGLvoi> ovde vov crocpov. Comp. 520. Ka%^v. 
632, 699.— 7re>u/c6. Comp. 38. 

441. <re dr). Supply \4yca or /caAoD, Matth., § 427, or, perhaps better, 
4pct>T&. Antigone drops her head, not from fear, but from indignation at 
such rude treatment. Concerning /xrj redundant after verbs of denying, 
see Matth., Gr., § 533, 3. 

443. Ka\ strengthens the affirmation, certainly I acknowledge. — rb ^ 
(sc. dpa<ra.i). Cf. Ajax, 96 : k6jx-kos irdpecrri kovk airapvovfiai rb pif\. 

444. Spoken to the watchman. — Kop^ois c\v creavrbv, you can take 
yourself off, you can go. — $ = ottol. 

445. The gen. curias depends on txev&epou. Bernhardy, Gr. S., 174. 

446. pi) ijltjkos, said imperiously, not at length, i. e., not in a long 
speech. Concerning substantives used as adverbs, Matth., Gr., 425. — 
(rvvrSfKas is found in Cod., Laur. A. ; other MSS. : crvvrofxa. 

448. efieWou supply €*5eW, a frequent ellipsis. See Herm., Yig., 
p. 261. Wunder : cur non noverim. 

450. yap refers to a tacit affirmative, certainly, for, etc. — ri is to be 
joined with ov = ovri, denoting an emphatic denial. — Ta5e refers to 
Creon's command, which he dignifies by the term j/6/jlovs. Antigone 
speaks of it with marked contempt, and intimates that it has no weight 
with her, since it conflicts with those eternal principles of right which 
supreme Wisdom and Justice have written in the human heart. In the 
teachings of the ancient philosophers and poets, Zeus was represented, not 
only as the "father, king, and master of all" (as in Plutarch., de Isid. : 
irarepa Kai frcurikia Kai Kvpiov Trdvrw, and Pindar, Isthm., iv., 53 : Zeis 6 
icavrcw ttvpios), but also as the fountain-head of Wisdom, by virtue of 
which, in union with Justice, he governs all things. Cleanthes, Fragm. : 
yj/d>fjL7)s, fj irltrwos <rv Aliens fxera iravra Kvfiepvas (see Rhein., Musaeum, 
1853, p. 259). By these the moral government of the world was estab- 
lished. Antigone fearlessly asserts, by word and deed, the paramount 
authority of their laws, and is ready to sacrifice her life in defence of her 
faith. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 865 seqq. 

451. Aiktj is here the associate of the powers below, because she pro- 
tects the rights of the dead, and demands the fulfilment of those duties 



174 NOTES. 

toward them which all men in their turn require. Cf. iEsch., Fragm., 
47: Kal rod &av6vTos rj Sikt) irpacrcrei k6tou. Ajax, 1365. She is also 
called the coadjutor of Jove. (Ed. Col., 1382 : A'ikt) ^vveSpos Znubs apxai- 
ols v6/ulois. Cicero, Nat. Deo., i., 42 : est enim pietas justitia adversum 
Deos. The funeral rites are hence termed Si/cam, justa. 

452. j/SfAovs, with particular allusion to the laws or consecrated usages 
concerning sepulture. Concerning the paramount sacredness of these 
observances, see Potter's Gr. Antiq., vol. ii., p. 161. 

453 ff. The sense : nor did I imagine that your ordinances were so 
mighty, that you, a mortal, coidd overpower the unwritten and immutable 
laws of the gods. — vwepd pajj.e7j/ (uirepTpex^), to outstrip, overrun, is a term 
borrowed from the race-course. Observe the anacoluthon: instead of 
continuing the simple contrast between 'the validity of the laws of the 
gods and those of Creon, Antigone modifies the construction by intro- 
ducing &vr)Tov uvtol, as if to exhibit his impotence still more forcibly. 
Supply the pron. ce from the preceding to, <ra. The conflict of authority 
expressed here, between the divine law and human enactments, is the 
hinge upon which the whole tragedy turns. 

456. ov — ti, same as above, 450. — ye heightens the force of the sar- 
casm. The sense : for these are not just of to-day or yesterday (like 
yours), but have existed from everlasting. The present tense £77 is em- 
ployed because those laws are still in force. — vvv /cax^es. This phrase, 
like x&* s Kal Trpdorjp, irp&nv Kal x&* s > was formed after the Homeric ex- 
pression, x& L (<* re Kal irpcai^a ; Lat. : nudius iertius. Iliad, ii., 303. 

457. e| orov (xp6vov), at what time, that is, how anciently, referring to 
the date of their origin. — i<pdvr], were made known, i. e., were revealed, 
(paivscr&ai was used to denote the manifestation of the divine will in sac- 
rifices. Plutarch, Arist., p. 329 : tcpdvn ra Upd. 

458. tovtuv refers to v6/xi/j,a; the gen. depends on Uktiv. The pen- 
alty of laws is the punishment inflicted for their violation. The sense 
is : / did not intend to pay to the gods the penalty of (violating) these, from 
fearing the judgment of any man. — eV &eoi<ri. The preposition is unneces- 
sary, the simple dative being used in such constructions. Comp. Elect., 
538 : ovk efxeWe roVSe poi Scocetj/ 5i/n?z/. Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., p. 213. 

461. rod xptvov Trp6(T^€i/ 9 before my time, i. e., prematurely. The ex- 
planation of the Schol., rod .elfxap/neyov $7\\ov6ti, is inadmissible, for, ac- 
cording to the ancient Grecian belief, to die before the time allotted by 
Fate was simply impossible. Comp. 236, 1338. iEsch., Prom., 753. 

462. avr\ that, referring to the untimely death. Schneidewin, from 
Laur. A., and Par. A., edits : avr, on the contrary, which is unnatural. 

463. eV iroK\. kolkois (fj, etc. So Io, in iEsch., Prom., 750, desires to 
escape from the ills of life : icpeTcrcrov yap elcrdirai; frcwetV 2) ras airdaras fjfii- 



NOTES. 175 

pas ira(rx€iv nanus. Pr. (754) : aurt] yap r t u av irrj/jLaTav airaWayf], — $epa, 
for the mid. (peperai, receive. 

466. Trap* ovdev a\yos (tcrri), is a grief of no moment. Schol. : ovdefxia 
Xvirv. Coinp. at 85. 

467. 7]V(Tx6p.7]v (avtxoixai), as in Par. A., is defended by Bo^eKh; 
others have itrx^W- The sense : if I had suffered the Cvr^lv oj my own 
mother's son (to remain) unburicd, I should be distressed at that. — bavSvr* 
pekvu. Cf. 26. 

468. ro^Be 8 s ovKa\y. is an emphatic repetition of the thought of 465. 

469. Spuca Tvyxavew — hpav, stulte facer e. 

470. crx^v ri, very nearly, or quite. — bcbXiCKOLvcc, I incur the charge 
of am taxed with. The alliteration, fxccpa fid>py ficapiav, expresses bitter 
contempt. 

471. rb yhvr\\xa = y\ (pvcris, disposition, temper. The order: rb yiv- 
vriixa rrjs 7raid6s dyXo? cDfxbu (ou). — drjho?, is manifest, intrans., as in v. 20. 
The idea is, that Antigone has inherited her intractable temper from her 
father. 

473. Creon's reply is elicited by the last words of the Chorus, that 
Ant. knows not how to yield : But know that over-stubborn tempers fall 
soonest, i. e., break rather than bend, by which he is naturally led to the 
following comparisons. Comp. Ajax, 649 seqq. 

475. birrbv in irvp. TrsptaKeXTJ, baked to excessive hardness, so as to be 
brittle. Wunder : ita coctum igne, ut sit durissimum. — SpavcSivra /c. 
payivra irXe1(rr, the easiest shivered and snapped. The opt. with av, ex- 
pressing a truth derived from experience, is a milder expression for the 
indicative. Comp. 314. Post's Parallel-Gr., p. 367. 

478. oif yap ifareAei. In the preceding examples, illustrating the pos- 
sibility of breaking Antigone's proud spirit, Creon seems to have had in 
mind also the necessity of doing it ; to this necessity yap refers. — itareXei. 
Hesychius, extern. The sense : for it does not befit him to be insolent, who 
is the slave of his neighbors. The expression is strongly indicative of the 
passion which Antigone's contempt of his authority had aroused. The 
term BovXos could not be employed concerning a princess of the blood, 
except in spite ; but, if it was the design of the poet to hold up tyranny 
in the most odious light to his countrymen, as appears probable, no lan- 
guage could be more skilfully chosen. 

480. avrri, that woman, not deigning even to address Antigone. — 
vfiplfciv, understand kjxi, for Creon considers her offence a personal in- 
sult. Comp. 309. — t6t€ is limited by virspfiaivovcra = ore virepefiaive. 

483. dedpaftvTav yeXap, to exult at having done it, chuckle over it. Con- 
cerning this use of the participle, see Matth., 555. Hartung renders: zu 
hbhnen ob der TJiat. 



17G NOTES. 

484. ^ vvv, Schol. : uurcas S77, really now. 

485. ravr Kparn, that arrogated power, set up in opposition to, or 
over, the legal authority. — avarl is explained by the Schol., ad Eurip., 

•it/od., 1357: iivev arrjs kou fi\d fin s. The sense : if this presumption is to 
remait< : l o her unpunished. 

486. a56Aq)//SV^ c - irais. The reading SfxaLiuLovea-Tepa is approved by 
Hermann, Dindorf, anu\Boeckh : others, bixaL^ovearipas. Creon speaks 
with the extravagance of passion... but if she is my sister's child, or even 
nearer than all my kindred. Hermann : " &ei)? sczgris meae Mia est sive 
tota mihi domo mea propinquior ." — ttolvtos Zrjvbs 'EpKetov. The explana- 
tion of the Schol., irdprcop twp ot/ceiW, the whole household, or family, is 
admitted to be the true one. Also Eustathius : robs ip olay irdpras dr)\o7. 
Zeus was especially adored as the protector of the family circle, and in 
this relation was termed &ebs i<p£<TTios or hettrrtop and €pKe?os. His altar 
stood in the open court. Comp. Eustath., ad Odyss., xxii., 335 : ficofxbs 
5e epicdov Aibs 4'£o> irov irepl tif]v avAr]P a&pios eluai doKet . . . ip $ e&vop 
Ail icpSpw rod epicovs. This court, av\-f}, was the usual place for family 
gatherings. Comp. also Herod., vi., 68. 

488. ovk aAvj-erop, etc, shall not escape the most terrible fate. For the 
gen. with this verb, Matth., 352. Cf. Elect., 627: &pd<rovs rov& ova 
a\v£€is. 

489 f. Construct : icrop incur too /j.ai Kelpnp (rb) fiovAsvcrcu rovde rd(pov 9 
for I charge equally upon her the planning of this burial. — fiovAevcrai, 
verb, subst. is the ace. of the crime. Matth., 421. The article is often 
omitted, id., § 542. The position of the infinitive forbids us to consider 
it merely as epexegetical of rovde rdfyov, as Schneidewin and others ex- 
plain it. 

491. Spoken to his attendants. — yap eldop gives the reason why Creon 
believes Ismene the accomplice of her sister. We must suppose that she 
was aware of Antigone's detection, and was unable to conceal her anguish 
and despair on her account. 

492. ou&' iirrjfioAop (ppev&j/, nee compotem mentis. Comp. a similar 
tautology, Herod., iii., 25 : ififxap-fjs re icbp kol\ ov (ppev-fjpns. JSsch., Prom., 
444. 

493. Constr. : 6 frvphs tcov rexPV^P^P pyficp op&as ip ckSto} <pi\e? 
TTpSoftep rjpri(r&cu kAottsvs, the guilty conscience of persons secretly plotting 
something wrong is accustomed to betray itself beforehand, i. e., before they 
are accused and convicted of it. — fjindep bpfrcos = ri jj.t) opfroos. Schol. : 
t: Kaicbp. — KAoirevs. Wunder explains: auctor facinoris occulti. 

495. x& Tav (— K( & otolp), especially when any one detected in a crime 
afterward wants to gloss it over, that is, justify it, as Antigone had done. 
498. ovdep, understand &e\a> fisiCop. 



NOTES. 177 

500. ^5' apeo-frein iroTe, and may none ever become agreeable. For 
the neg. fi-f) with a wish, see Matth., § 608, 4. Comp. v., 686. It is here 
equivalent to /xndtv. The verb apeo-iceiv, especially the aor. api<xai (comp. 
the cognate dpcai), has sometimes a causative signification, to make pleas- 
ant, Horn., II., ix., 120 ; hence the aor. pass, apea-^rjuai may be rendered, 
to be made agreeable, or, simply, to please. Cf. Herod., vi., 128. Herm., 
Yig., 195. 

503. a\na§e\<pov. Comp. v. 1. 

504. tovtols tovto, etc. The sense is : this act might be said to be ap- 
proved by all these (viz., the old citizens composing the Chorus), if fear 
did not shut their mouths, i. e., they would express their approbation if 
they were not afraid. The MSS., ey/cA-eftroi ; Dindorf, iynXijoi. 

506 f. These lines are thought by the Scholiast to be spoken ironi- 
cally ; they rather intimate that it is useless to contend with a tyrant, 
whose will settles every question. 

508. Creon disregards the last reflection, and replies to Antigone's 
assertion that the burial of her brother was secretly approved by the cit- 
izens. He denies that the Thebans regard it as a praiseworthy act. — 
bpo.s, look upon it in that light. 

509. co\ 5 J inrziWovo-iv crSfxa (var. v-kiWovgiv). The sense : they com- 
press tlie mouth, they truckle to you. It is a repetition of the thought 
expressed above, 505, yX&crcrav ijKXeicroi <p6$os, though in more contempt- 
uous terms. This verb is properly used of an animal that cringingly 
drops its tail between its legs, as Euripides, in a fragment of his (Edipus, 
says of the conquered Sphinx : Ovpav 8' inreiXAovo* vrcb Xsovtotzovv fid<riu 
e/ca^-e^eTo. Here it is to be figuratively understood of the submissive 
attitude of the citizens present, who crouch to their imperious master, 
and suppress their real sentiments. See Buttmann's Lexilog., ii., p. 150. 
Hence the Schol. correctly : yiyvdxTKovcn kou ovtoi • 5ia 8e ere to (rr6fxa 
(Ti/OTeAAoven kcl\ (TKaircccriP, ir) arpecpovcri robs Sia rod arSfxaros \6yovs. 

510. Creon, however, chooses to believe that their respect for his will 
is sincere : but are you not ashamed of taking a stand different from 
them? — (ppovets is probably to be understood in its political sense of 
assuming a position, holding an opinion. Comp. v. 375. — et = on, that, 
after verbs denoting an affection of the mind, Herm., Yig., p. 504. 

511. yap refers to an implied JS r o. ovd. alcrx-i it is no shame. 

512. 6 Karavriov fravevv, referring to Eteocles. Supply i<rr\. — x w * = 
real 6. 

514. ttws SrjTa . . . how is it, then, that you render him (Eteocles) an 
impious respect ? — ri/xas (== riveis) governs x^P LV as an acc * °f kindred 
signification. Matth., § 408, 3. Cf. Ajax, 687 : fioi rdBe Ti/xare, haec mihi 
honoris causa tribuite. Wunder cites Pindar, Pvth., iv., 480. Creon's 



178 NOTES. 

meaning is, that the respect shown to Polynices was a gross insult to 
his brother. He judges of it from his own political stand-point, 207 
seqq. 

515. oh jjLapTvp7}(rei — v£kus. The sense: the dead (Eteocles) will not 
confirm that, i. e., he will disavow that sentiment. 

516. €? roi is elliptical. The full expression would be fxapTup^cei p.iv- 
toi el, etc. Kender : certainly he will, if you honor him only equally with 
the malefactor. — t$ 5i>s(re/36?. See note to 287. In Creon's eyes rebellion 
was tantamount to the blackest impiety. 

517. ob — ti is a decided negative, like the Fr. ne— point ; comp. 450. — 
ydp implies a preceding a-cpe Tifxco ef tcrov. Polynices was equally entitled 
to the royal dignity, and consequently to an honorable interment. His 
rebellion was not that of a slave against his master, but the prosecution 
of a rightful claim. Comp. (Ed. Col., 372 seqq. 

518. irop&wp with wAero understood. 

519. ojjlws, nevertheless. Antigone thinks that death settles all differ- 
ences, and requires his laws to be equally observed under all circum- 
stances. So Lucian (Dial. Mori, xxv., 2) : 'Iffon/mla yap iu "AiSov iced 
tifxoioi anaures. — Iffovs. The MSS., except La. : tovtovs, which Hermann 
retains. The Scholiast : ypd<perai "icrovs. Aeyei 5e rb frdirTew. 

520. After \axeiv understand rovs vSfxovs. The inf. limits the adj. 
?cros> according to Matth., 534, b. — iVoy, instead of the impersonal iaov 
hrrl. Several MSS. : Xafislv ivov. Hermann explains : Bonus, inquit, 
non par est malo ad consequendum ea, quae-debita sibi poscunt mortui. 
We invert the expression : it is not just that the bad should obtain them 
equally with the good. 

521. Who knows whether such principles are deemed pious in the world 
below ? i. e., whether this invidious distinction is justified in the world of 
spirits. KaTwdrev = Kara, as in v. 1070 : r&v Kdrabev frewi/. Philoct., 
28 : '&vw&ev ?) Koirco^ep. — evayrj = eixrejSr). 

522. Creon believes in a continuation of the brothers' hostility after 
death, contrary to the popular belief, (Ed. Col., 954. 

523. A master-stroke of truth and beauty, defining the proper sphere 
of woman amid the angry contentions of the sterner sex. The sense : 
it is not my nature to hate with those that hate, but to love with those who 
love. Concerning the inf. with Zcpvv, see Matth., § 531. 

526. Kai fir)v, atqui. — 5j5' (sc. ia-ri), Comp. 384. Ismene is brought in 
at Creon's command, see v. 491. 

527. elpofjievr), instead of \ei$oix£wr). Horn., Od., xvi., 214 : tidfcpva \ei- 
fltov. Hartung adopts the emendation of Wex : ddxpv Xzifioixei/r]. The 
sense : weeping tears of sisterly affection. 

528. ve<}>e\r) 5' . . . al<rx^i y a cloud upon her brow disfigures her 



NOTES. 179 

flushed countenance. Cf. Eurip., Hippol., 173 : Grvyvbv ocppvcav v(<pos. 
Hor., Epist., i., 19, 94: derne supercilio nubem. — atpaTosy denotes the 
effect of weeping, which causes the blood to rush into the face. — p4&os is 
an iEolic word for irpovooirov, vultum. Eustath, 1090 : AtoAels 5e {x6voi 
Kara robs TraXcuovs rb irpovomov pe&os KaKovcriv. 

530. reyyovo* ev&wa irapeidv, bedewing her lovely cheek. As a cloud 
upon the mountain-summit dims the landscape by the falling rain, so 
sorrow darkens Ismene's face, and sprinkles tears down her usually fair 
cheeks. — r4yyov<r > 9 frequently said of the dew. Eurip., Hippol., 127 : 
dpocrcp reyyovcra. Ajax, 1207: Bp6crois reyyofxevos k6(jlcis. iEsch., Pers., 
540: hattpvcri k6\ttovs reyyovo* ; of tears. iEsch., Prom., 402. 

531. Creon turns to Ismene. — crb 5e distinguishes her from her sister. 
But you, who, lurking in my house, like an adder, have unobserved been 
sucking my blood. — v(p€ifieurj {ixpi-qfxi), in reference to her subdued and 
gentle manners. The Scholiast remarks that the adder, stealthily creep- 
ing up to the feet, sucks a person's blood. 

532. ou5' i/jLavfravov, etc., is loosely appended to the relative sentence. 
Boeckh remarks that the Greeks do not long continue the relative con- 
struction, but change to the oratio recta. See also Matth., Gr., § 469. 
Brunck renders : atque adeo inscius geminas pascebam furias, regnique 
mei pestes. Concerning the nom. part, agreeing with the subject of ly^iv- 
3-cwoy, see Hermann, ad Yig., p. 769. Boeckh retains Su* aras, found in 
most MSS. Comp. (Ed. Col., 530 f. : dv e£ ifxov fieu ircude, dvo 5 s &ra. 
The abstract for the concrete. 

534. kolL crb — (f>-f)creis, will you also confess, as Ant. had done, 443. — 
s |o/xe?. 2d sing. fut. of £%6fjLj/vfAai. The sense : or will you solemnly deny 
any knowledge of it. — /jlt]. Comp. 263. 

536. eftrep rjb^ dfioppo&e?, if she there agrees to it. Ismene cannot tell 
a downright falsehood, and, not knowing whether Antigone has implicated 
her, she qualifies her declaration in such a manner as to show her desire 
to conciliate her sister, and to share her fate. 

537. (pepca, the prefix £vjj. to be supplied. The gen. rys curias depends 
on fv^ueTiVx&n 

538. rovro, supply iroieiu. Allusion is made to w. 67, 69. 

541. £v/jLir\ow, a nautical term, means here a sharer. Schol. : Koivca- 
vbv. The language suggests the image of a sea of suffering (ireXayos 
ird&ovs) which Antigone was about to traverse. We may compare the 
Shakespearian expression, a sea of troubles. The figure is well known 
among the tragic poets. (Ed. Col., 1746. JEsch., Prom., 746 : neXayos 
arrjpas dvris. Eurip., Here. Eur., 1090: kcxkcou 5e ir£\ayos els r6§' tfyayss. 
For the nom. part, with a!<rxvvo[jLai, see Herm., ad Yig., p. 769. 

542. j-uvi<rropes (d<xi) = avviaavi. The sense is : Pluto and those in 



180 NOTES. 

the nether world (including Polynices) are aware whose act it is. Antigone 
implies that that companionship is no longer possible, because the divini- 
ties of the other world, to whom the facts are known, would not accept 
the sacrifice. — £y, pi. for sing., as frequently. 

543. iyk is emphatic, I for my part, and intimates that the gods be- 
low must also regard Ismene with aversion. 

544. fitiTot aTL/j.d(rr)s, etc., is an earnest entreaty. The sense is : do 
not deem me too unworthy to die with you, and to honor the dead with burial 
rites. The art. to serves to specify the disgrace inflicted. Comp. Elect., 
132 : ou5' e&eAo? irpoXiireTu r6$e, fir] ov top ijj.hv GTOvay£ v iraTtp* #&Aioj'.— 
jjl)) ov is a strengthened negative, the force of which will appear in a 
stricter translation : do not inflict upon me the disgrace of not dying with 
you, etc. — ayvicrai has reference to the consecrated bath (ayvbv AovrpSv) 
by which the dead were purified previous to interment. This office was 
usually performed by the nearest female relatives. Comp. Eurip., Phoe- 
niss., 1339, 1681, and inf., 901. Ajax, before committing suicide, says 
(654) : etpi irpbs Xovrpa &s \fipa& ayviaas epa, etc. 

546. Koiva = <rbv. — iroiov areavTrjs, make your own, i. e., assume as 
your own act. — apKecca &ut]o'kovo' iyd>, my death will be sufficient. Comp. 
(Ed. T., 1061. 

549. Antigone means : as you preferred Creon to me (cf. 47), he will 
tell you how to live without me. 

550. ri tout aviys fi, cur sic me enecas nulla cum utilitate tua? Her- 
mann. 

551. ahyovffa fihu Srjr, I am just as much pained that I must laugh at 
you, viz., for claiming now a share in this affair. The expression yeAw 
yiXcara h coi = iyyehw (Tot, irrideo iibi. The prep. eV is redundant. 
Cf. Ajax, 957 : yeAa 8e roTcrSe &x e(TlJ/ ^oKvv y4\ccra. JEschyl., Choeph., 
222. 

552. a\\a vvv, at least now. Cf. Elect., 411 : Dicit hoc Ismena : si 
ante in sepeliendo fratre tibi adjutrix nonfui, at eerie nunc quomodo adju- 
vare te possim, die guaeso. Wunder. See Herm., Yig., p 471. 

554. a/jLirXaKO) signifies deprivation. Comp. 910. The sense: must I 
even be excluded from sharing your death ? — nal belongs to the whole ques- 
tion. Boeckh : audi theillos soil ich deines Todes seyn. 

556. aAA* ovk (eixS/mriv (rju) eV appr}Tois, etc. But I did not choose it 
in my unspoken thoughts, that is, in my heart I chose death with you. 
Antigone alludes to the choice made by Ismene in the Prologue, 66 seqq. 
Ismene in reply intimates that she had not acted in accordance with her 
secret convictions. She had obeyed the king's decree from force, not 
because she was really false to her duty. Comp. 78. 

557. This iu a much-disputed passage. Some, with the Schol., read : 



NOTES. 131 

ixkv (Toi = creain-f?. You seemed to yourself to judge rightly, but I to others. 
Hermann and Boeckh retain the vulg. rots, and understand it as an abla- 
tive, referring to Isniene's reasons for submitting to the civil authority, 
making rots 8 s refer to Antigone's course in obeying the divine law. This 
is probably the best interpretation. We may construct the sentence 
thus : ab fiey idoKeis Ka\cos (ppoveTv rots cots, eycb Se iSoKOvv (ppoveTv rots 
ifiois. You thought you took the right ground by your way of reason- 
ing, and I by mine ; briefly, you thought you were in the right, and I 
thought I was. See note to 510. 

558. kol\ ^V? atqui, and yet. Matth., 621. Herm., ad Yig., 837. 
Yet our error is equal, i. e., we are equally in the wrong, though in differ- 
ent ways. 

559. av fx\v Cfjs, etc. Antigone means that the consequences are very 
different. You live, while my heart has long since been dead, so that I might 
benefit the dead ; that is, I have long since renounced life so that I might 
benefit my deceased brother. See 71 ff. Schneidewin wrongly refers 
this to the time of her condemnation to death. 

561. rob ircude. See note to 21. The ace. for the gen. dual, rolu iral- 
doiu, as in (Ed. Col., 878. 

562. aft ou to. TTpwT t(pv, from the day of her birth. Brunck : alteram 
vero amenteiri natam esse. 

564. vovs, sense, refers to &vovv. The sense that has grown up by na- 
ture does not abide with those in trouble, but is unseated, deserts them. 
Hoc ilia dicit, etiam qui ante recta mente usi sint, rebus adversis pertur- 
batos prava consilia sequi. Hermann. Ismene makes this apology in 
her own behalf, in reply to Greon's charge that she has just gone crazy, 
and hopes thereby to appease his anger. 

565. <ro\ yovv, sc. ovk epeve. — crvv kolkols, a poet, plural, meaning An- 
tigone. For the thought, comp. Theogn., 35, cited by Xenophon (Mem., 
i., 2, 20) : tju 5e KaKoicri a'vfx/ji.ia'^'vs, ctaroA-eTs Ka\ rbv iovra v6ov. 

566. Tt yap — PidbcrifMov is similar to v. 548. What fa life worth to me 
alone without her ? Ismene, in her agitation, involuntarily asks Creon 
the question that Antigone had sarcastically advised her to. — yap has 
not its ordinary meaning in a question. The Greeks used it as an inter- 
rogatory particle, like the Lat. nam in quisnam, ubinam, etc. See my 
note to Dem., Phil., i., 10. Herm., ad Yig., p. 826, says it answers to the 
Germ, denn, then. Similarly the French use done. For ^iuxti/jlop, cf. 
Herod., iii., 109. 

567. TJSe is the object of \4y\ used materialiter, as it is termed, after 
the preceding TrjsBe. This demonstrative could properly be used only of 
present and living persons. Antigone is now regarded as already dead. 
See Matth., 279. 



182 NOTES. 

568. wjj.<pe7a = yv/x(pr)p, bride. Antigone was betrothed to Hsemon, 
the only surviving son of Creon. 

569. Creon's answer to this touching appeal is unfeeling and coarse. 
The cold statesman makes no account of the tender ties that bind two 
human hearts together, but regards marriage simply as the means of pre- 
serving the race. It is another offence against humanity for which he is 
made afterward to suffer. Comp. a similar metaphor, (Ed. Tyr., 1210. 

570. 7)p/j.oa/x€ua, neut. pi. used impersonally. The sense : there was 
no match so well-fitting to him and her. No two persons harmonized so 
well in character and position. 

572. & (piAratf A'i/jlwu ... I follow Dindorf and Boeckh in assigning 
these words to Antigone. "A Greek maiden," says B., "could not say 
<plAT<x& of one to whom she was not affianced." In the MSS. this verse 
is generally attributed to Ismene. In tne Aldine ed. it is spoken by An- 
tigone, to whom only the following verse could properly be addressed. 

573. oiyau ye \vire7s, etc., nimis tu molesta mihi es cum nuptiis tuis. 
Comp. Ajax., 589, 1147. 

574. This question of the Chorus reminds Creon that he cannot wreak 
his vengeance upon Antigone without at the same time blasting the hap- 
piness of his own son. 

575. Instead of e<pv, Cod. La. has e^ol. 

576. dedoy/jiev for he^oyfxivov iarrl, it is resolved. Comp. 570. (Ed. 
Col., 1431. — m eoiKe, sc. fxoi. 

577. /cat cot ye koluol. It is usual to govern these datives by SeSoyue- 
va, supplied from the preceding ^erse. This appears to be a forced inter- 
pretation, inasmuch as the Chorus above (574) had decidedly intimated 
its disapprobation of this measure, cot ye SeSoyaeV £(TtI would therefore 
not be true in respect to the Chorus. I prefer, with Wunder, to regard 
these words as spoken in answer to the half-query contained in ws eotAce, 
the same verb being understood : it appears so to you, and to me too, i. e., 
your impression is correct. — pdj rpifias en is a stern command : no more 
delays. Supply iroietr^ or some similar verb. A frequent ellipsis : comp. 
Aristoph., Acharn., 345 : fit] jjlol 7rp6<pa(Tiu. Wasps, 1179 : /jltj jnol ye /xv- 
&ovs. Demos., Phil., L, 19: fi-ft fxoi /mvpiovs £evov$. — viv, pi. instead of 
avrds. 

578. e/c rovde, henceforward. 

579. yvvouKas efocu, must be women, that is, must be kept in their 
places, within-doors. — fiyd' aveifievas is added for greater clearness, and 
not roaming at large, lit. let loose. Cf. Elect., 516. Musgrave justly re- 
marks : " Sarcastica phrasis, qua significat eas indecore, nee pro honesta- 
rum mulierum more, extra aedes vagari." In the glimpse here afforded 
of the manners of the early Greeks, we perceive a trace of the Oriental 



NOTES. 183 

notion that seclusion is the best safeguard of female propriety. The 
proper sphere of woman was the house, and it was deemed unfeminine 
to cross even the threshold, except in case of necessity. Stobaeus Serm., 
74, 61 : ffiia 5e yvvaiKos to olKovpe?v koX £v§ov fidveip, a rule which was yet 
more rigidly observed in the case of unmarried daughters. Cf. (Ed. Col., 
343, and particularly Eurip., Oresi, 108 : els uxXou tpireiv irap$£voL<riv ob 
kcl\6v. 

580. Connect, irixas rod filov. See Matth., § 338. — The sisters are 
led into the palace ; Creon remains on the stage during the singing of the 
following stasimon. 

582. Strophe 1. — Moved by the calamity which has befallen the daugh- 
ter of (Edipus, the Chorus reflects upon the origin and relentless power of 
the far] among men. When this has once entered a family it never leaves 
it, but is renewed with each generation, until the whole race is extermi- 
nated. It is compared to a wave of the sea which increases in depth and 
extent till it stirs up the slimy bottom and breaks against the distant 
shores. — zvdai/Aoi'es — alcau. Happy they whose life is devoid of misfortune I 
For fryeucrros, with the gen., see Matth., 343. Wunder cites Plato de 
Rep., p. 576 : iXev&eplas 8e KaX (piXias aXr\bovs rvpavviK.7] (pvcns ael cryeu- 

GTOS. 

584. Constr. : yap ovdev &ras iXXe'nrei (tovtois) oTs BSfios av ffeicdTJ 
freeze*/, for no sort of calamity is wanting to those ichose house has been 
shaken by divine power. The divinity here alluded to is the evil demon 
of the family : wXectlolkos 3-eos, irarphs 'Epivvs, ircudoXeTcop 5' epis. -<£sch., 
S. c. Th., 720-26. Comp. id., 324.— <re«r£f}. Comp. 163, note. 

585. iirl irXrj&os yeveas epitov, stealing upon the whole of the race, suc- 
cessively, equivalent to epirou e/c yeveas is yevedv. The part, ep-rrou assimi- 
lates itself to ovfcv, not &tcls, as we should expect. Cf. 296. 

586. Construct: ojaoiov &o~tg ttSvtiop olBfia KvXlvSei KeXawav kcl\ dvsd- 
ve/jLov &?va fivcrcSfrev, orav dvsTrvSois ©prjcrcrcuo'iv irvoais (avrb) i7ri$pd/jLr) 
vcpaXou epejSos. It may be rendered : like as a wave of the sea, when by 
violent Thracian blasts it penetrates the submarine depths, rolls up the dark 
and turbid sand from the bottom. I adopt Schneidewin's emendation, 
ttSptiov, instead of the vulg. irovriais, to avoid the overloading epithets. — 
®pya-(rai(nv. Thrace was anciently called the home of storms. Horn., 
II., xxiii., 230. The JEgean sea is here meant, upon which the north winds 
were proverbially violent. For the expression KvXivSei KeXcuv. &?va, 
comp. Isaiah, lvii. 20 : " The wicked are like the troubled sea, whose 
waters cast up mire and dirt." Virg., Georg., iii., 240 : ima exaestuat 
unda, Yorticibus nigramque alte subvectat arenam. — Svsdvetxov is explained 
by the Schol. : r)]v \nrb avijxcav rapax^^av. . 

591. avTiirKriyes, wave-beaten, as in (Ed. Col., 1240: Kv/xaroirXi]^ a/cra. 



184 NOTES. 

Observe the transition from the calm and solemn measure in the begin- 
ning to the more vehement one adapted to the sense. 

Antistrophe 1. — The general truth enunciated in the preceding 
strophe is now illustrated by the example of the house of Labdacus, in 
which woe follows woe without hope of release to the race, since now the 
last root of the stock is to perish by folly and infatuation. 

593 f. I see the ancient icoes of the Labdacus family following after the 
ivoes of those who have perished. Hermann : " Hoc ille dicit : antiqua 
Labdacidarum gentis mala video defunctorum mails addita. Resuscitari 
enim antiqua mala novis et primi sceleris poenas iterum iterumque reno- 
vari." — ir-fifiara iirl iri\^a(n denotes a continued series (Matth., 402, n. 2), 
expressed, however, in an inverted order. He says, I see the old evils 
superadded to the present ones, instead of saying, I see the new succeed- 
ing to the old. Cf. iEsch., Sept. cont. Theb., 740 : ^n ir6voi dSficai/ vioi 
7ra\cuo7cri cri^/uyeTs /ca/cots. ccdamitates novae prist'mis gentis malis ad- 
mixtae. — (p^trwv is Hermann's emendation, instead of the vulg. (pSifxevayy. 
It is considered to refer directly to Eteocles and Polynices, and more re- 
motely to (Edipus and Jocaste. 

596. ov5 s aira\\d(T(rei yzveav yivos, generation does not free generation, 
i. e., one generation does not redeem another from similar miseries. 
Brunck correctly: "nee parentum aetas miserias exhaurit ut iis proge- 
nies libera sit." — yeueav yevos, different forms with the same signification, 
as in 1067 : vinvv vsupoov ; 1330 f. : a/xepau afiap ; Ajax 475 : irap ^/xap 7]{iepa, 
— aAA* ipe'nrei 3ea)j/ ris, etc, but some demoniacal power overthrows it, and 
grants no release. — %x*i is used in the sense of Sidaxri, as in the phrase 
ix* lv avyyv&ixnv rm. Cf. Herod., 155, which, according to Yiger, Gr. Id. 
252, is cdicui veniam dare = cvyyiyvclocrKeiu, The subject is ris &e£j>, 
having reference to 584, freeze*/, where see note. Hermann without ne- 
cessity supplies ra nana as the subj. of e^ef. — \v<riv is used for %k\v(Tiv, 

SC. KCLKtoV. 

599. vvv, but now, lately. Germ. : so eben, in the sense of apricas. 
Herm., Tig., 425. — wrep co^aTa? plfas ; a Dor. genitive, over the last 
root, meaning Antigone, by whose union with Hsemon it was hoped that 
the Labdacus dynasty might be restored. She calls herself, infra, 941, 
the last of the reigning family. Comp. 895. The Schol. : %$\a<TTev avco 
Tijs piCf)s. 

600. <paos is the light of hope, promising deliverance from the heredi- 
tary evils. Similarly Eurip., Iphig. Taur., 855, speaks of Orestes as cpdos 
dSfJLois. — ireraTo, had streamed, or spread. 

601. av, now again, expresses surprise at the sudden and unexpected 
blow. The particle has the force of a copula, — kcit — afia, separated by 
tmesis, is interpreted by Hermann, obruit. The sense : now again this 



NOTES. 185 

{hope) the fatal dust of the infernal gods has cut off, or extinguished. — 
k6vls is the reading of the MSS., and defended by B. and Herm. Many 
prefer ko-ttls, as being better suited to the figure. But if viv refers 
to (pdos, as the construction seems to require, it might very properly be 
said that this light was extinguished by the dust which Antigone had 
thrown upon her brother's bloody corpse, and by the imprudent lan- 
guage and fatuity of mind which had sealed her doom. Comp. 480 
seqq. 

Strophe 2. — Passing from the picture of hopeless ruin wrought by 
the arrj in the family of (Edipus, the Chorus adverts in general terms to 
the amazing audacity of the man who should aspire to grasp the power 
of Zeus, the invincible and eternal ruler of bright Olympus. The impo- 
tence of man is placed in strong contrast with the divine omnipotence, 
which reveals itself in the inevitable punishment inflicted upon the inso- 
lent transgressor. Such is the fixed law of all time. This portion of the 
ode is obviously pointed at Creon, and expresses a vague presentiment of 
the evils which his impiety is about to draw upon him. 

605. reau for cr^v. The sense is: thy power, Jupiter, what mortal 
would presumptuously aim to grasp ! In an interrogative form the Chorus 
expresses its astonishment that any man could conceive such a wish. 
For the omission of av, with the optative, see Matth., 514, note. The 
meaning of naracrxoi may be judged of by a comparison with 455. Both 
passages refer to Creon's endeavor to put down or set aside the divine law, 
and to make his will supreme. Boeckh : hemmen, hinder, restrain. — 
virepfiacria. is used adverbially, as the dative frequently. Matth., 399. 
Herm., Vig., 57. 

606. rap ov& virvos alpe?, etc., which sleep never overcomes, the all-con- 
queror, i. e., which enervates every thing else. The Zeus of Sophocles is 
the all and ever seeing god. Cf. 184. In (Ed. Col., 1086, he is addressed 
vavr6vra Zed. Homer (11, xiv., 242) represents him as the only divinity 
who can resist sleep whenever he will. — iravToyfjpas, Par. A., Travrayftpcos. 
The word implies that sleep, like old age, enfeebles and relaxes. In 
Horn., II., xxiv., 5, it is termed wavdafji&r&p, the all-tamer. 

607. ovt aKa/xaroL &eap is the reading of Cod. La., and approved by 
Hermann in his 3d ed. The unwearied (never-ending) months of the gods. 
Said in reference to the unceasing course which they run according 
to divinely-established order. So Addison says : " The unwearied sun 
from day to day," etc. — pajves, used in the general notion of time, 
which, like sleep, is said to subdue all things. Comp. (Ed. Col., 609 ; Aj. 
714. 

608. ayqpcos and ayripa> are both in good MSS. Homer uses ayripus as 
a synonyme of a&dvaTos. A scholium cited by Hermann makes it an epi- 



186 NOTES. 

thet of Jove : <rb fAv, 5 Zeu, ayfjptos re real dvvdffTas els airavra rbv x?^ vov 
€?. — Buudaras, Dor. for dvyd(rrr)s. 

611. rb r tTreiTa is usually understood to 'denote the immediate future, 
taken as present time, and rb {xiwov as the distant future. But these 
three expressions, which evidently embrace all time, seem to be placed 
inversely ; the natural order is : rb re irplv koL rb }i£\\ov km rb eireira 
o5e v6[aos €TrapK€<rei. — rb jjlsWov denotes something on the point of hap- 
pening, impending, and may properly be regarded as a present. Thuc, 
i., 134 : fx4\Xovros avrov airo^x^v. So St. John, iv. 47 : TJfxeAKe a7ro&- 
i/7](TKeiv, at the point of death, on the point of breathing his last. It 
answers to the Lat. instans tempus. Lucret., i., 459 : Tempus rebus ab 
ipsis Consequitur sensus, transactum quid sit aevo, Turn quae res instet, 
quid porro deinde sequatur. The fut. eirapKecrei is used because the pas- 
sage is intended to be a prophetic warning to Creon. This law will stand 
fast. 

613. The close of the strophe is obscure and confessedly corrupt. 
The conjectures and emendations are too numerous to be cited. None 
of them have obtained any general approbation. The MSS. agree in the 
reading: ovdev epirei Srvaroov fidrai ird[xiro\is iicrbs &ras. Par. A. has 
ouSeV. From a consideration of the general tone of the ode, which is an 
exposition of the leading doctrines of Grecian fatalism, and from the evi- 
dent connection which exists between the close and the beginning of this 
strophe, it may be inferred that the eternal and universal law here men- 
tioned is the law of retributive justice. In the ancient national belief, 
Jupiter was the supreme power who had established and still maintained 
the moral and physical order of the world. Any violation of this order 
was a crime, which, of necessity, drew after it the punishment of the .gods. 
Then the &tt], the relentless daughter of Jove (II., xix., 91 : Upeo-/Ba 
Aibs frvydrrip, "Arrj — $) irdvras aarai, ovXofjLevr]), was sent to vindicate the 
divine law by the downfall, not only of the offender, but of his whole 
family. There was no escape from the hereditary doom. This, then, is 
the central thought in this most gloomy and solemn ode. In this second 
strophe the poet looks up from human wretchedness, and adoringly con- 
templates the Deity's all-might, which puny man audaciously tries to 
usurp. Here the main idea is 8iW<ns, infinite power, and the expression, 
rb t s eireira — vSjjlos 6'S', simply states a fact in regard to its operation 
upon human life. The adj. TrdfiiroXis, all-pervading, agrees with the prin- 
cipal word, dvvaais, supplied from the above. Thus it explains the eter- 
nal law : Jove's power, while being over all, intervenes not in the life of 
man without calamity, i. e., except for punishment. Tor the ancients rec- 
ognized the power of God chiefly in His punitive judgments. 

Antistrophe 2. — The Chorus then goes on to tell how men draw 



notes. 187 

the divine chastisements on themselves. With many, extravagant hope 
is the illusion that betrays into wickedness and blinds to danger. For, 
whom the divinity aims to destroy, he first robs of sound reason and the 
ability to discern good from evil. But the haughty spirit hastens to its 
fall. 

615. a (r)) yap 8)7 iroXvirX., for visionary hope is doubtless an advantage 
to many men ; it sustains them in difficulties and incites to exertion for 
the attainment of noble ends. 

616. iroXXois obtains an increased force by repetition. Cf. 1096. 
The sense is : to many more, however, it is the illusion of light and trivial 
desires. It is an ignis fatuus, which misleads and beguiles a man to the 
commission of wrong, and thus involves him in calamity. Comp. a simi- 
lar thought in Eurip., Iph. Taur., 415 : <\>ixa yap iXirls i^dyova iirl 7rr}/jLa(ri 
{SpoT&v . . . KevaX Bo£ai. Creon's own words, 221, vir iXiriScav . . . dico- 
Xecrev, are about to be verified in himself. 

619. The subject of epirei is eX-irls. Brunck interprets : nihil sentienti 
obrepit (spes fallaciter ad mala perpetranda impellens). This false hope 
is only another word for the &T77, which stealthily creeps upon its uncon- 
scious victim and deludes him to the accomplishment of his own ruin. 
Schneidewin cites a similar thought of Antiphon, 114, 27 : 01 iinfiovXevS- 
fievoi ovfiev iffacri irplv eV avrcp fixri t§ KaitS>. 

620. irvpl . . . irposav<rr), till he has scorched his foot in the hot embers, 
a homely proverb, which, like iv irvpl jSe^/cay, is said of those who heed- 
lessly fall into unforeseen dangers. Seidler's emendation, irposavprj, is un- 
necessary. The vulg. irposavari is confirmed by Cod. La., and is appro- 
priate to the sense. It is derived from the old root avca, kindle. Cf. Horn., 
Od., v., 490. In prose, ivavca. The comp. with irpos = irposKav<rn. 

621. <ro(j>ia, as adv., wisely, truly. — iretyavrai = airecpdv^r], has been ex- 
pressed or uttered. Cf. Trachin., 1 : A6yos fieu io-r* apxouos av^pwircav (j>a- 
veis. The celebrated saying here quoted is, by some, attributed to Simon- 
ides, who abounds in such reflections. The Scholiast cites a similar one 
from an unknown poet : 

"Otolv 8* 6 SaC/xoiv avSpl rropavvri Kaica, 
rbv vovv e/3A.ai//e npuTOv, a> /3ovAeueTai. 

Lycurgus, Orat. adv. Leocr., § 92, quotes these words of Euripides : 

otolv yap bpyrj Sou/jlovcov pXanTr) riva, 
tout' avrb irpoiTov e£a$aipetTai <f>pevojv 
tov vovv rbv ko~9kov, kt\. 

To these may be added the popular Latin adage, which is ancient in 
spirit, if not in form : Quern vult deus perdere prius dementat. 

622. The Homeric heroes are often affected by such an hallucination 



188 NOTES 

of mind, produced by some malevolent divinity, as Automedon, II., xvii. t 
469: 

Avro/xeSov, ti's roi vv Oeuiv vrjKepSea (ZovXrjV 

Iv <TTr)9e<r(TLv eflrj/ce, /ecu e£eAero <f>pivas ecrflAas ; 

And Agamemnon, apologizing to Achilles (II., xix., 87), says : 

eyw 5' ovk atrtds ei/ui, 
aAAa. Zeus Kal Motpa /cat ^epcx/xnTis 'Ept^us, 
otTe /xot eiy ayopfj (frpealv ep.{iakov aypiov a.Tt\v. 

625. Brunck includes this verse in the quoted aphorism, and substi- 
tutes irpda-a-eiu for irpdcrcrei of the MSS. This criticism Hermann properly 
condemns: "perversissimum judicium ; ipsius haec chori verba sunt." — 
b\iyo<TTov xp^vov, a very short time. — -rrpda'crei, gets along, proceeds, in the 
same sense as when coupled with an adverb, ev, evrvx&s, etc. Comp. 
701. The place of the adv. is here supplied by curbs &ras. 

627. viarov, poetical superlative of veos, last, or youngest, Cf. 807 f. 

629. \x6pov, object of axvvpzvos. Verbs denoting strong feeling are 
joined with the accusative, which is at the same time the cause of the 
feeling. Matth., 414. Comp. Demos., de Fal. Leg., § 81, Phil., i., 45. — 
rd\iBos. raKis is a poetical term for a grown-up, blooming maiden. 
Boeckh : ein mannbares Madchen. Comp. Virgil's expression : puella 
matura viro ; and Hor. : tempestiva viro. 

630. awards, Dor. gen. The sense: distressed at the frustration of his 
marriage. The Schol. correctly : vir\p rr\s rojv Aexewv airorvx^s d%^(^yue- 
vos. The last words of the Chorus are addressed to Creon, who, it is 
evident, has remained upon the stage. In announcing the entrance of 
Haemon the Chorus forebodes the domestic troubles which are to result 
from Creon's inhumanity, and through which he is destined to receive 
his punishment. 

631. /xdurecop vireprepov, better than seers, that is, we shall know it with 
certainty. It was a proverbial expression. 

632. re\dav rprjtyoi', the final sentence. Cf. 575. The interrogative 
particles apa ^ are used when a negative answer is expected. Herm., 
ad Viger, p. 821. It may be rendered: my son, you surely do not come 
enraged at your father, upon learning his final condemnation of your in- 
tended? — ndpei = rjKeis, expressing motion. Comp. 1182, 1172. The gen. 
fi€\\ovvfjL(})ov depends on iprjtyou. See Matth., Gr., § 341. 

634. iravraxv dpwvres, taking whatever course I please. Hermann ex- 
plains : "iravraxy est quocunque modo. Hoc enim dicit Creon: an me 
amas, quoquo modo de Antigona statuero V Comp. 271. — <rol fiev is em- 
phatic, to thee at least. eV/xe*/ is understood. Matth., 306. 

635. <r6s el/ii, lam thine, both as a dutiful son and subject. — ^x (av =z 



NOTES. 189 

vapexbv = Sidovs. Herm., Vig., 251. Comp. 597, note. The order is: 
Kal <rv 6%a>y XP 7 ? '™ 5 yv<j>\i.as /jloi airop&o?s 0*e), and you, by giving me good 
counsels, guide me aright. Haemon's language expresses a mental reserva- 
tion : he intimates his willingness to follow his father's counsels, provided 
they are good. — kirop^oLS (indie.) = opfrws Ka&riyfj, mrev&tveis, Schol. Cf., 
infra, koXws rjyovjjLevov. 

637. a£icas 9 properly, i. e., justly considered. The sense : for no alli- 
ance will justly be more important for me to obtain than your right guid- 
ance. With gov kol\. Tiyovfxej/ov, comp. 701. — (pepeff&ai, consequi. Comp. 
this inf. with 7?<rcrw Aa/3eiV, 439. Here, again, Hsemon makes his acqui- 
escence in his father's wishes dependent on their rectitude. He after- 
ward endeavors to show that Creon is taking the wrong course. 

639. dia (TTepvoov exet*/, to feel, to be disposed in heart. This idiom is 
illustrated by numerous examples in Herm., Tiger, Gr. Id., p. 585, Matth., 
580. Hesych. : crrepyou, Bidvoia, (ppives. 

640. Constr. : irdvr kcrrdvai oTricrfrev iraTpcias yv&fxTis, that every thing 
may stand subordinate to a father's judgment. The perf. kcrrdvai is only 
used intransitively. The infinitive depends upon Soa-re understood, as 
correlative of the preceding ovrco. Rost, Parallel-Gr., p. 516. Comp. 
97. The Schol. interprets : otov rrjs irarpcpas yvd)\it\s irdvra elvai Sevrepa. 

643. avTa/jLvvowTai, requite, instead of the more usual avTajxei^cavrai^ 
as in iEsch., Choeph., 123 : nrbv ix&pbp avTa^i^ecr^ai kouco7s. Cf. Thuc, 
i., 42 : a^LovTO) tols bfxoiois 7][xas a/jLvvec&ai. 

644. e£ Xffov varpi, as much as the father does. 

646. it6povs, troubles, is the reading of the best MSS. Var. : TreSas. 
Comp. (Ed. C., 460. 

648. vvv, therefore, used in argument, like Lat. quare or igitur. 
Herm., Yig., p. 425. — {>($> Tjdovijs, from lust. The prep, denotes the cause 
or motive. Wunder : prae voluptate, sive propter voluptatem. 

650. Hesiod ("Works and Days," 702) says, a man gets nothing 
better than a good wife, and nothing colder than a bad one. 

653. irrva-asy rejecting her with disgust. Comp. 1232. Schol. : tcara- 
(ppovficras. Simplex pro composito airoTrrva-as quod praebet August, b. et 
Rice. Erfurdt. 

654. £p "AjSou, sc. d6/x(p. — vvfityeveiv, La., others vvfjupevaeiy, used in- 
trans. of a woman, like the Lat. nubere. Comp., infra, 816. 

657. \|/ev5/) 7', etc., I certainly am not going to belie myself. 

658. irpbs ravra — £vvaifiov. The sense is : now let her appeal to Ju- 
piter, the protector of relationship, that is, let her invoke his aid against 
this disregard of my relation to her. Matthiae (Gr. 591) explains irpbs 
ravra as a formula of resignation resulting from a previously-expressed 
determination. 



190 NOTES. 

G59. tcl e77ev/} (pvtrei, those of my own family. 

660. ttKocrfia, disobedient, insubordinate. The idea is, if I shall not 
keep in order the members of my own family, I certainly shall not those 
out of it. Those persons are called kSc/jlioi, who observe top koctjaop, 
i. e., who regulate their lives by the standard of the laws. See Stallbaum, 
ad Plat, Crito, p. 53, C. Comp. 730: aKoo-fiovPTas = a7rei&ovPTas. Sehol. 

662. xpV^rbs, here strict and upright in the government of his family. 
In the primitive Grecian family the eldest or chief exercised complete 
authority, not only over his children, but all his relations. Aristot., 
Polit., i., 1, 7 : iracra yap oIk'iol fiaaXeveTai \mo rod irpecrfivTaTov, costs kcu 
at cnrouc'iai 5*a tt]p trvyyipeiap. — iv 7r6\€i, in the state, that is, in civil gov- 
ernment. Comp. 177. Creon pretends that to spare Antigone, on the 
ground of her being a near relation, would be dangerous to his authority, 
and an encouragement to general insubordination. He proceeds to de- 
monstrate the necessity of her punishment by commonplace reasonings 
based upon public expediency. 

663. octtls 5' vwepfias, but whoever by insolent transgression, etc., said 
in allusion to Antigone's contempt of the royal power. Comp. 481. 

664. to iTriTdo-o-eiv, to dictate. See note to 485. Concerning the su- 
perfluous article, see Matth., 543. 

666. op ir6\is o-r-hcreie (sc. apxoPTa, fiaffiXTJa), whomsoever the state has 
appointed as ruler. Comp. "(Ed. T., 940: rvpavuov o-t-^o-ovctlp. Herod., 
iii., 84, v. 42. The optative with the relative denotes an assumed fact 
which is at the same time one of general occurrence. — This expression, 
which appears rather forced in one who succeeded to the throne by in- 
heritance, and not by the public choice, betrays the democratic Athenian, 
who intends it for the benefit of his countrymen. Similarly Demosthenes, 
concerning military discipline, Phil, i., 19 : nap v/x€7s epa kolp irXeiovs, kolp 
top SelVa kolp optipovp xzipOTQpi\o"f\T£ o~TpaTr}y6p, tovtco Trelo'eTcu kol\ clko- 
\ov&r]o'eL. 

667. kclI CjjLiKpa, . . . Tapapria, both in things that are small and just, 
and their opposites. This passage seems to be a modification of the Attic 
proverbial expression, ovt€ fxiya ovtc (TfiiKphp, illustrated in Herm., Yiger, 
pp. 114, 724. Stallbaum, ad Plat., Apol. Soc, p. 19. Hence Brunck cor- 
rectly : " TapaPTia notat kclI {xeyaXa Kai a§iKa. Seneca, Med., 195 : aequum 
atque iniquum regis imperium feras." The idea is, that absolute obedi- 
ence is needful, even in things which appear hard and unjust. 

668. tovtop top &pdpa, etc. Some critics connect this with h.p\\p 
dtfccuos cop, 662, and place the five intervening verses after Trapao~TaT7)p. 
But Matthiae (quoted by Hermann) has conclusively shown that no trans- 
position is necessary. The explanation given by the Scholiast, tovtop 
top t£ Pao-iXe? irei&6iJ.€POP, is now generally admitted to be correct. Creon 



NOTES. 191 

means that a man who is obedient to his chief in all things would him- 
self make a good officer, and would acquit himself well in every position 
assigned to him. This accords with the words of Solon, in Diog. Laert., 
i., 2, 12 : apx € TTpwTov fia^roou ap%ecrd-cu. 

669. Constr. : av 3-eA.eu/ eu apx^^ai. Brunch : et rede gubemet ao 
bene gubernari velit, viz., by his superior in command. Comp. Plat., 
Crito, ch. 12, B. 

670. Schol. : dop6s, avrl tt)s fidx^s. — it posrer ay /asvov, posted in the 
ranks. Husgrave : jussum, i. e., ubi jussus est It may be rendered : and 
in the storm of battle would remain at his post a trice and brave coadju- 
tor. — 7rapa(TrdrriP = cv/jLfjLaxou. This passage is thought to have been im- 
itated by Plato, Apol. Soc, ch. 16, E. See Stallbaum ad loc. 

672. With the advantages arising from good discipline Creon presents 
in vivid contrast the evils of insubordination, avapx^-, which is the fruit- 
ful mother of calamities both to states and armies. 

673. Comp. 296 f. — §S*, in the sense of a conjunction, though more 
forcible ; hence the propriety of retaining r' after irSAeis, which is found 
in the best MSS. Compare the Epic : re — ?/5e. — avaa-rdrovs rib-qcriv = 
e£az/io-T ?7(nz>, 297. The idea is, that it drives families into exile. The 
ruin of states involves that of families, of which it is composed. 

674. <rvv pax?' La. : (rvfxfxdxn^ whence Bothe conjectures crv/jL/maxov, 
which is received by Hartung and Schneidewin. Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., 
p. 214, recognizes avv /J.dxy as correct, and cites a similar construction in 
iEsch., Pers., 470 : clkSct^ <jvv <pvyrj. Boeckh makes avv == eV: but gvu 
fidxv $op6s is not the same as eV x €l P& vl $op6s. The idea conveyed by 
dvv is, that insubordination, cooperating with the onset of the enemy, causes 
our own ranks to break. With dopbs understand iroXt^iov. 

675. rpoiras Karapp-qyuvcn, breaks into flight, i. e., causes flight by 
breaking up the ranks. — t&v op&ov/j.euav, of those who are kept straight, 
i. e., who keep the places assigned them in the line, and present a united 
front. The salutary effects of good discipline are similarly set forth by 
Menelaus in Ajax, 1079 seqq. 

676. ire&apxia, discipline. Comp. JEseh., Sept. c. Theb., 224 : Trer- 
bapxioL yap eori tt,s evirpa^ias fJ-rirrip, " discipline is the mother of suc- 
cess." — <t&iao§\ figur. for lives. Herm, Yig., 144. Comp. Xen., Cyrop., 
iii., 3, 45 : ol yikv vik&vtss acb^oi/rai, ot 5e (pevyovres aTo&vriCntovcri jiaXXov 

677. ovrois afj-vvre, etc. The sense is: in the same manner we ought 
to support the (civil) ordinances, what is ordered by the ruler for the public 
good. The same subordination is required to preserve a state as an 
army. In the verbals afivurea and rjo-crrjrea, the pi. for sing., as above, 
576, SeSoytxwa. Matth., 443. 



192 NOTES. 

678. And by no means micst we yield to a woman, since that would be 
the subversion of order. No sort of feminine government was tolerated 
in Greece, nor any interference in political matters, which devolved ex- 
clusively upon the men. yEschylus, Sept. c. Th., 200 : 

Me'Aei yap avSpl, /xrj yvvr\ /3ovAeveTW, 
ra£co0ei/ • erSov 6' ovaa. p.v) ^Kdjirjv rLOei* 

Comp. Horn., II., vi., 490 seqq. Unmarried women remained in a life-long 
tutelage, and were obliged to have guardians. Hermann, Pol. Antiq., 
§ 122. Widows also, ibid., wherefore Telemachus commands his mother 
(Odyss., i., 356) to attend to her household, and leave the direction of 
affairs to men. See note 579. Concerning rjcra-Tjrea with the gen., see 
Buttm., Lar. Gr., § 102. 3. Matth., 447. 

680. 7)o-(rov<Es 9 subjects, used sarcastically in the sense of SovAoi. 
Boeckh: Weiberhiechte. Comp. 525. 

681. The Chorus expresses its assent to these doctrines timidly, as 
if dreading another rebuke, see 280. — r$ XP^ UC P k*kA., unless we have been 
robbed (of judgment) by time, i. e., old age. 

683. Haemon waives the discussion of these abstract questions, which 
could only increase his father's irritation, and seeks to conciliate him by 
a " soft answer," equally remarkable for its moderation and respect. 
Without any desire to question the justness of his opinions, he modestly 
suggests that something might be said on the other side ; the fact that 
public sentiment is against him, and the reflection that no man ought to 
consider himself infallible, as well as the dangers attending a too strenu- 
ous persistence in his resolution, are forcibly urged to induce him to re- 
cede from his position. — <ppevas, reason. Comp. to (ppoveiv, 1348, a more 
general term for evfiovAia, 1050. Comp. the cogn. subst. <pp6v7](ris 9 prac- 
tical wisdom, which Plato calls the first and noblest of the divine bless- 
ings, De Legg., L, 631. Symp. 209. 

684. Constr. : xmiprarov irdurcou X9 7 l^ Tcav °°* carl. Comp. iEsch., 
Agamem., 927 : rb /jltj kclk&s (ppoveiu 3-eou ^iyiffrov Bwpou. 

686. ovt* hu dvvaifiriv, /jl^t £iri<rTodii7}v. These verbs are employed in 
a similar sense ; only the latter, with fxTj, signifies a wish. The sense is : 
/ neither can nor would ivish to be able to assert, etc. See Matth., Gr., 
608, 4. It is analogous to our expression : I could not if I would, and 
would not if I could. Comp. 500. — \eyeiv, in a pregnant signification, to 
show by argument, to prove. 

687. This verse is obscure and probably corrupt. The connection 
of thought seems to require the article rb to be supplied with koAws exov 9 
which then becomes the subject of ylvoiTo. The sense : yet that which is 
right and proper might occur to another also, that is, the correct view 



notes. 193 

might possibly be taken by another as well as yourself. This interpreta- 
tion is confirmed by 706. — tout 3 dp&ws %x* LV ' Haemon here merely hint3 
at what he afterward develops more fully, that sound judgment — cppevss, 
to (f>pove?y — is not confined to Creon, and that other people's opinions 
concerning this grave case are worthy of attention. He then proceeds to 
tell him what the citizens say about it. Hermann, from the Schol. : v«. 
repots. 

688. cv 5' ov ire<pvx.as. This reading is preferred by Hermann and 
Boeckh to the common cod 5 J olv iretyvfta. The former is more in har- 
mony with what follows. Haemon means : you are a king, and therefore 
you are not in a condition to observe what the people say and do, for the 
reason that, etc. 

691. \6yois toiovtois . . . In regard to such words as you will not be 
pleased in hearing. For the dat., see Matth., 386. Such relations are 
commonly expressed by the limiting accusative. Matth., 424, note. 

692. i/jLol 5* aKoveiv ic&\ the opposite of 688. — vwb ckotov, in private. 
Schol. : \d&pa. 

693. oV, wherein, or wherewith, is assimilated in case to rdSe, to which 
it relates. 

694. cos for on. The sense : because she, the most undeserving of all 
women, must die the most horrible death in consequence of the noblest acts. 
Notice the intense feeling expressed by the three superlatives. We may 
see in this passage the poet's own view of the character of Antigone, 
since Haemon reports the judgment of the people. 

696. Haemon here skilfully cites a specimen of the speeches he had 
heard in praise of Antigone's action. It is given to confirm his own brief 
summary of the public sentiment contained in the preceding lines. — kv 
<povais, in caede, on the battle-field. Comp. iEschylus, Agam., 446 : rbu 5' 
iv (povais tt€c6j/t\ — 'qns, one who. 

697. fir}^ — eW b\4c&ai, did not suffer to be consumed, etc. The neg. 
fii) is employed in relative sentences. — oioov&v tlv6s. Cf. 257. 

699. Is she not worthy to obtain a golden honor? Comp. a similar 
construction, Ajax, 924 : &£los &py)vo)v rvx^u. CEd. Col., 450. By xp v ~ 
cr)s Tigris is probably meant a golden statue or crown, which was pub- 
licly decreed as a reward of virtuous actions. See Potter's Antiq., Gr. i., 
p. 135. 

700. ipejjLvr), Schol. : ckotcivt). An obscure rumor of this sort quietly 
goes the rounds, i. e., circulates among the people. Comp. iEsch., Agam., 
449 : Ta5e ctyd ris flaunt. 

701. Haemon seeks to soothe his father by expressions of filial attach- 
ment, and the assurance that he is solicitous for his real welfare. 

703. Constr. : ri yap (eoTf) fxu^ov dyaXfxa t£kpois evKheias baWovros 



191 NOTES, 

Trarp6s ; for ivhat is a greater jewel to children than the good name of a pros- 
per ous father ? 

704. -/) t'l -irpbs 7rat5a>i/ irarpi ; or what to the father, on his children's 
part, sc. than their good name ? See Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., 264. AVool- 
sey justly observes that this is a brief substitute for the converse of the 
first clause. 

705. Do not, then, entertain the single notion that that is right as you 
think, and nothing else (is right). The phrase eV ?)&os — <p6pei contains the 
idea of overweening conceit. Verse 706 is an explanation of tf&os and in 
apposition with it, hence the ace. cum inf. : tout* dp. ^x €LU - Kiihner, 
§266. 

707. avrbs (ppovelv, nom. with inf., see Matth., 536. Hasmon tempers 
his admonitions by citing general and well-known aphorisms, referring 
here to a passage in Theognis, used as a school-book in Athens, v. 221 f. : 
ostls roi doKeei rbv irX-qviov 'i5fi€j/cu ovShv, aAA' avrbs /jlovuos iroiKiXa SY^e' 
e%eij>, k.€lv6s y cteppoov iari. Schneidewin. — ostis, referring to no partic- 
ular person, is taken in a collective sense, and has its antecedent o%tol in 
the plural. Matth., § 475. . 
' 709. axp&ycrav. For the aorist employed as a present, see note to v. 
800. Comp. 1353. 

710. Constr. : a\\' ovSev alcrxpbv rb avdpa (JLav&dveiv ir6\\a, Kei tls rj 
<ro<pbs. As avdpa signifies no particular person, the indefinite tls is used 
to refer to it, in the sense of avr6s. That el concessive (for idv) is used, 
by iEschylus and Sophocles, with the subjunctive, is fully recognized by 
Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., 399. The sense requires the emphasis to be laid 
upon y. — kolL €*, est etiam si, Herm., ad Vig., 829. — The art. to is here 
merely a metrical convenience, as in v. 78. Matth., 543. For the 
thought Schneidewin quotes the words of Solon concerning himself: 
TnpdcTKCi} alel iroWa ^L^acrKOfievos. 

711. Kal to fj.r] ts'lvglv &yav, and not to strain too hard, that is, not to 
be too self-willed and headstrong. The conj. Kal connects this clause 
with alcrxpbv ovdev, as if this were Ka\6v. Comp., infra, 723. From this 
hint at Creon's natural failing, Haemon is led to consider the unhappy 
consequences of stubbornness, in painting which he employs images not 
unlike those of Creon, above, 473 f. 

712. The poet appears to have had in mind JEsop's fable of the Heed 
and the Oak, and puts into the mouth of Haemon what must have been 
familiar to a young Athenian of his time from school instruction. 
Schneidewin. 

714. Schol. : avT07rp€/j.v =. avr6ppi£a. 

715. avrcos 5e vabs ostls, etc. So also the man (sc. boatman) who, hav- 
ing drawn taut the foot-rope of the boat, does not yield, viz., by slackening 



NOTES. 195 

it, etc. The author refers to the primitive ship, which had but one mast 
and one sail. The irSBes were cords attached to the lower corners of the 
sail, by which the latter was managed as occasion required. Potter's 
Gr. Antiq., vol. ii., p. 135. 

716. Kara) (TTpeipas . . . capsizing, lie sails henceforward with inverted 
benches, which means that the ship will be bottom upward and the boat- 
man will be drowned. With crrptyas supply tt\v vavv. The MSS. agree 
in to Xoiirov, for which Hermann substitutes to ttXoiov. Boeckh defends 
the vulg., and renders : hinfort schifft er mil urngekehrten Banken. to 
Xonrbv means here, afterward, i. e., after the squall has struck the sail. 

718. slice &vfxov. Var. : &vfjL$. The genitive gives the sense which 
the connection requires : but recede from your will, i. e., your determina- 
tion to execute Antigone. This reading is approved by Bernhardy, Gr. 
Synt., 180. — bv/jLov does not here mean anger, for that would not be in 
keeping with Hsemon's respectful tone, but mind, or purpose. Thus 
Wunder interprets : sed cede voluntate, ejusque mutationem praebe. See 
Matth., 352. 

720. TrpecrfieveLp iroXv has the force of a superlative : I think it is far 
the best that a man should abound in knowledge in all things, or, perhaps 
better, be quite full of knowledge and wisdom. Cf. Trachin., 338 : Toi- 
tcov e%o> yap ttolpt imo~T7i/jLr}v eycv. Hermann observes : irdvT 3 e7rio~T7] l u.7i i 
pro uno vocabulo est, perfectam notans consummatamque scientiam. 
iravTa is often used adverbially, comp. sup. 195, and Trachin., 498 : e/ce?- 
vos iravT* apicrTevcav %epozV tov rf/crS' epcoTos els airav& rjcrcrow ecpv. 

722. el 8 s ovu = el Se fx^j. This passage is explained by Hermann, ad 
Vig., 831 : sin minus (non enim ita evenire solet) laudabile est certe, ex iis, 
qui recte admonent, discere. And Matthiae, Gr., 617 : el 8e fir} t'is ea'Tiv 
eirKrT^/jLTjs irXecas. Cf. Eurip., Hippol., 513. Haemon seeks to give weight 
to his counsel by citing in substance the maxim of Hesiod, Opp. et d., 
290: 

Outos [xev navapujTOS, os avTO? navra vorjo-fl, 
ecrOkbs 5' av Kaicelvos, os eu glttovtl niOriTai, 

Comp. the imitation of this passage in Herod., vii., 16; Cicero, pro 
Cluent., 31 ; Livy, xxii., 29. 

723. Constr. : kol\6v (ecm) Kal t5 fxav^aveiv tuv ev \ey6vToov. Cf. 
1031. 

726. In the following colloquy, which is composed with consummate 
art, observe the fine contrast in the temper of the speakers : Haemon, 
calm and moderate, but manly ; Creon, supercilious, rough, and provok- 
ing. The one is the mild voice of reason, the other that of blind and 
reckless passion. — ol T7]\iKoi5e y etc. The sense, are we even at our age to 
be taught prudence by so young a man ? implying that the contrary ought 



196 NOTES. 

to be the case. — inr\ Schneidewin, from Laur. A., instead of the vulg. 
irp6s. With the expression 5t5a£. cppoi/eTv comp. 1353. — tt\v <pv<riv, said 
in reference to the time of his birth, hence age, years. See, below, rov 
Xp6vov. 

728. firjdep, supply the preceding verb. The Schol. correctly: /«;&«/ 
diodcrKov o /jlt] diKcu6v icri (rot 5i5aa-/ceiv, learn nothing that is not right for 
you to learn. 

729. Tapya, actions; see, that is, whether they are those of a man 
whose opinions and counsels merit attention. Below, 735, he tells Creon 
that he speaks as a very young man, hastily and injudiciously. The con- 
nection seems to require us to refer the word rapya to the prudent coun- 
sels which Haamon had given in the preceding speech. It is manifestly 
so understood by Creon, who sarcastically inquires if that is a just action, 
to honor the disobedient, as advised by Haemon, 699. 

730. aKocrjjLovj/Tas, legibus non pare7ites. Herm. Cf. 660, note. 

731. ovtf av KeAevcrai/jL . . . I would not counsel you to do honor to 
the wicked ; implying that Antigone is not so. — KeXevco is frequently used 
by counsellors. 

732. 7J8e, sc. Antigone. The sense : has not she been taken with that 
disease ? — roia^ for rf)d\ 

733. o^tttoXis means here united, entire. So Brunck : hoc negat uni- 
versalis Tliebanus populus. The tragic writers often use Trdi/d^fMos and irdy- 
koipos in a similar sense. Comp. 7. Haemon has before intimated, 689, 
that the sentiments of the people ought not to be disregarded. But the 
autocrat takes fire at the idea of popular interference. 

736. &\Aa) yap -/) 'fiol, dat. of advantage. The sense: must I govern 
this land for the benefit of any other than myself? Dobree's emendation, 
fie, instead of the vulg. 76, is approved by many of the recent editors. 
The sense thus obtained is more consistent with Creon's principles and 
character than the old interpretation. The poet represents him as the 
type of despotic sovereigns, claiming unlimited power (173, 306 ff.), 
holding his people as slaves (479), and the whole state as his individual 
property. He thinks, like Atreus, oderint, dum metuant ; and Louis 
XIV., Vetat c'est moi. He will rule for himself, for his own benefit, and 
according to his own fancy : car tel est notre plaisir. 

738. vofjiiCerai, is held, said of something consecrated by usage. For 
its construction with the gen., comp. (Ed. Col., 38: rod frecov vo/jd^ercu; 
Aristoph., Eq., 714 : crv top drjfiou ceavrov v€p6fxiKas. 

740. The king has no argument with which to meet Hsemon's reductio 
ad absurdum, and so descends to a personal taunt. — 6T, this fellow ; the 
3d person denotes contempt. So in (Ed. Tyr., 1160. — (rvfifiax^ is in the 
best MSS., others a-vfifiax^u, which Boeckh prefers, thus making the 



NOTES. 197 

infill, depend on zoiks, as in Trachin., 1233 : 'Avrip 0S 3 &s ioixzv oh vz\xziv 
ijxol tp&ivovri uolpav. But see Host, Parallel-Gram., 528. 

741. yap ovv, with emphasis, for I certainly consult your interest. 

742. dta diKrjs ixv -rrarpi, contending with your father, i. e., judging 
him. Sehol. : diKcurdfievos. — 5;a difcrjs Uvai is a circumlocution for the 
cognate verb 5i/ca£e<rdai. See Matth., § 580. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 773 : 5ia 
rvxris levy. (Ed. Col., 905 : el uev 5t 5 opyrjs tjkov, and similar examples 
collected by Zeunius in Herm., Tiger, p. 535 f. 

743. For I see you committing gross injustice. — b^'waia is the cognate 
ace, not an uncommon construction with the verb auaprdveLv. Philoct., 
12-48 : rrjp auapriav alcyjpav aixapruv. Ajax, 1096. 

745. You do not honor (your authority), at least when you trample 
upon the honors of the gods, viz., by refusing burial to the dead. Comp. 
77. This reminds Creon of the words of Antigone. 453 ff. 

746. jjuaphv rf&os, etc., despicable character and slave of a woman. — 
vffrepov = ricrcrco, as above, 680 : yvvaixxv r/crcroves. Comp. 756. 

747. ovk av e\ois. Laur. A. and Dindorf. This reading has been 
condemned by many critics on the ground that av cannot be lengthened 
(see Hermanns Opusc, iv., p. 380 f., and 3d ed., ad loc), but there is 
reason to believe that it is sometimes anceps. See Dindorf, ad Jiseh., 
Sept. c. Th. 562. It seems to me, however, that this objection might be 
obviated by inserting 5 5 after av, particularly as an adversative particle 
is required by the sense, which is, out you will not catch me succumbing at 
least to what is dishonorable. — 5e is frequently put in the third place by 
tragic writers. Cf. .Esch., Eum., 64, 68: Soph., Philoct., 1362, 971: 
Trachin., 595. 

749. Ka\ (inrep) aov ye, etc. Hcernon means that the course he had 
recommended was not less to Creon' 3 true interest than that of others. 
Cf. 741. By &ewv veprepeev he will again warn him of the danger he in- 
curred by sinning against the gods of the nether world. Eor this per- 
sistence in impiety Teiresias afterward (1076 ff.) solemnly announces that 
he is to be " punished in the shape he sinned." 

750. Constr. : ovk eud-' &s yauels irore ravrrjp eri (xcrav. He rudely 
cuts off all further discussion in respect to Antigone, by declaring his 
fixed purpose to put her to death. Cf. 575 f. 

751. teal Savova* 6\e? nvd, and in dying will destroy somebody (else). 
Haenion intimates that he will not survive her, but Creon construes his 
words into a threat against his own life. Eor the expression, comp. 
Eurip., Iph. Taur., 551 : re^rvrix rX-fiucav, -npbs 5' a-xXeaev nva. 

752. Understand iioi. The sense is : are you so audacious that you as- 
sail me even with threats ? 

753. ris, in the sense of ttoTos, what sort of — tcevas yvwuas, vain ) L e., 



198 NOTES. 

unreasonable notions. The word yvw^as applies directly to Creon's futile 
arguments, but indirectly also to his understanding, which, as Hsemon 
hints, was not capable of just reasoning. Hence the Schol. : npbs fiwpbv 

&V&pU3T70V. 

754. K\aiooi> <j>pev<Jb(T€is, you shall enlighten me to your sorrow. Comp. 
726 : dida^o/j.ea'^a (ppGiselv. 

755. elwoy &v — (ppoveiv, I should say you were deranged. He wishes to 
avoid as far as possible the appearance of disrespect. 

756. fx)) k6ti\\4 pe, do not cajole me, that is, do not try to impose on 
me by pretensions of filial respect. The verb means to speak in a plau- 
sible manner for the purpose of deceiving. Creon refers, not merely to 
Hsemon's last remark, but to his previous professions of devotion, 635 fF. 
which all pass for nothing so long as he opposes him in defence of An- 
tigone. 

757. Hsemon alludes to the proverb : Whoever says what he likes, 
must also hear what he does not like. Cf. Ajax, 1085. Plaut., Pseud., 
1173. Contumeliam si dices, audies. Schneidewin. 

758 f. &\ri%res; indeed? as adv. expressing astonishment and indigna- 
tion. Comp. Aristoph., Aves, 1606. — ob is to be joined with Sevwco-eis, 
the oath being put parenthetically. — x a h WJ/ 9 w ^ 1 impunity. For this ad- 
verbial use, see Herm., ad Tig., p. 765. Comp. /cAcuW, 754.— fotf ofi, 
cf. 276. — iirl tyoyoicri signifies manner : auf tadelnder Weise (in a reproach- 
ful manner), Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., p. 250. — dewd&eis, scoff at Schol. : 
vfipiveis. 

760. to ixicros, the detestable creature, sc. Antigone : spoken to his at- 
tendants. 

762. ob &7}t j , a strengthened negative, by no means. — tovto ix\) SJ|. 
7roT6 is said in answer to the king's oath, 758. 

763. <rv t obdafxa = ovre av nbdafxa. Seidler. For several negatives 
strengthening each other, see Matth., 609. 

764. eV 6(p^a\ijLo7s, instead of the simple dat. of means. Matth., 
395, n. The crowded terms indicate the intense feeling of the speaker, 
as above, 760 f. 

765. Liaivr), La. fialvrji. The Scholiast explains : &s iioivn irapa rois 
(})(\ois ro7s biXovGiv inrofjielvai ttjp arjv fiaplav, ut insanias apud eos tuorum, 
qui te insanientem ferre volent. Seidler. — trwAv, in company with, or sim- 
ply with. By tols 3-e\. twv <p[\(av are probably meant the Theban elders 
(sc. the Chorus), who had too tamely acquiesced in Creon's tyrannical 
measures. 

766. e| opyris ra%ys, hastened on by passion. (Ed. Tyr., 1073 : vif 
ay pias a£acra Xvirrjs 7) yvvi}. 

767. vovs . . . fiapvs, so young a spirit wrung with grief is fearful. — 



NOTES. 199 

fiapvs expresses an apprehension that he may be driven to some desper- 
ate act. Comp. 1251. Hermann explains : a quo grave quid metuendum. 
Comp. jSapos, 1256. 

768. The part. Idov is = imp. "itw. The sense is : let him go and do what 
he pleases — let him be more presumptuous than becomes a man y let him ex- 
alt himself above human measure. Concerning this form of comparison, 
see Matth., Gr., 449. 

770. teal is to be connected with afjL<pco avra. Do you then intend to 
execute both of them even ? The question is intended to remind Creon that 
only one was guilty. 

771. Not the one of course who is innocent of the offence. The parti- 
ciple being used instead of a relative sentence, jjl^j is only a presumptive 
negative. Ismene's participation in the act not having been proved, she 
is presumed to be innocent. Host, Paral.-Gr., § 177. — yap ovu f comp. 
741. 

772. kcli <r(pe, viz., Antigone. — /cot with a pronoun has generally the 
effect of rendering the latter more emphatic, though it cannot always be 
well expressed in English. Comp. 32, 280. Philoct., 319: 'Eycb 5e kclu- 
rbs. Here it is an affirmative expression, and the opposite of the pre- 
ceding tt)v ye /uly] &iyov<iav. As the particular kind of punishment — death 
by stoning — was announced in the proclamation (see 36), it is difficult to 
imagine a reason for this question of the Chorus. The poet probably de- 
signs to delineate in Creon the character of a weak and resentful tyrant, 
having no fixed principles of action, but easily yielding to the suggestions 
of his own passions. In his present exasperation the " death alone " of 
his victim will not satisfy him (comp. 308), but death in its most linger- 
ing and horrible form. 

774. The derivation of Karwpvxh an( i the different expressions used 
for it in the sequel : kzv&os vskvoov, epfxa rvfi^Sx^crrov rd<pov, KarripG<pe? 
rvfifia), Solvovtoov /caraer/ca^as, etc., make it probable that the place chosen 
for Antigone's punishment was a subterraneous chamber artificially ex- 
cavated and walled up, and used as the burial-vault of the Labdacus 
family. 

775. 5is &yos, sc. ehai. The sense : placing before her just so much 
food as to be a purification or expiation of guilt. The Scholiast makes 
&yos = Koi&apcris. Hesychius : ayviCfxa frvtrlas. Lat. piaculum. Hartung 
contends that it should be taken in the same sense as in verse 256, and 
changes \i6vov into (pevyeiv. The food was intended as a propitiation to 
the divinity for the purpose of avoiding the curse attending an impious 
deed. Benloew : tantillo cibi, quantum piaculo sit satis (quantum sufficiat 
ad evitandum piaculum) apposito. Comp. 889. 

776. oVws fxiacrjAa . . . in order that the whole state may escape pollu- 



200 NOTES. 

Hon. As all the powers of the state were concentrated in the monarch, 
his guilt would extend to the whole nation, and the divine judgments 
would be visited upon all. Comp., inf., 1015, and the devastations of the 
plague in Thebes, (Ed. Tyr., 22 seqq. For the doctrine in general, see 
JEsch., Supplices, 370-5. Philoct., 386. 

778. Teu£eTcu rb /jlt) &ave?v, she will perhaps obtain a release from 
death - . This verb very rarely takes its object in the accusative. Her- 
mann (ad Yiger, p. 760), while admitting this construction in iEsch., 
Choeph., 711, rvyxwzw to, irp6(T<popa, endeavors to explain the ace. in 
this passage by making it equivalent to Tev£ercu tovtov, uxrre fify baveiv. 
Also Bernhardy, Gr. Syntax, p. 176, says that the ace. found with this 
verb in a few poetical passages is only apparent, and that rvyxjbvtiv in 
them is used absolutely. But see Matth., § 327. 

779. yovv aAAa ryviKavfr, certainly then at least, viz., after failing in 
that request. For aXAa, cf. 552. 

780. rav "Aidov, in full, ra eV "AiSov 86 t uois, A scoffing repetition of 
777: rbu "Ai*.— &e«y, Matth., Gr., § 379. 

781. In the following ode, suggested by Hsemon's invincible affection 
for Antigone, love is represented under the similitude of a warrior break- 
ing forth from his ambush, and inevitably subduing his victims. None, 
whether gods or men, can escape his power, and whoever is taken is be- 
reft of reason. — aviicaTe fidxavy invincible in combat. Love is the might- 
iest of all passions, and in a conflict with other passions it is sure to 
obtain the mastery. 

782. os £p KT-fj/naCL 7rt7TT6is, who fallest upon thy prey. As the assault 
of love is followed by certain and immediate victory, so by the rule of 
ancient warfare the conquered become the property, or slaves, of the con- 
queror. Plato, in Phaedon, p. 140, says that men are properly called the 
property (KT-fifxaTa) of the gods, and in Lucian's Dial., 6, 4, Juno taunts 
Jupiter with being o\(as ktyj/jlo, rod "Epcaros. — eV — miTreis, by tmesis for 
ijjLiriiTTeis, which is used by JEschylus, Agam., 341 : "Epcos firj i/xiriirTr) 
<rTpa,T$. The common interpretation of KT-fjfjiaa-i, riches, fig. for the rich, 
meaning that the wealthy are more subject to love than the poor, is 
scarcely the correct one, for the poet directly afterward says that none 
are able to escape him. Comp. the expression of Horace, Od., i., 19, 9 : 
in me tola ruit Venus. Anacr., in Amor., viii., 16 : Metros 5e KapMas /jlcv 
"Edvve, Kat }x %Xvcre. 

783 f. os t' eV, etc. ; vulg., os eV. The sense is : and who lurkest in- 
sidiously in the maiderts soft cheeks. The cheeks of the maiden are Love's 
stronghold, from which he darts upon his unsuspecting victims. — evvv- 
Xeuers conveys the idea of lying in wait, as Horace says, Od., iv., 13, 8 : 
llle (Cupido) virentis Chia pulchrls excubat in genis. — In invocations, 



NOTES. 201 

where a relative pronoun relates to a vocative, the relative is sometimes 
used for the 2d personal pronoun. Thus a relative clause may be con- 
nected with one having that pronoun for its subject. Comp. 1119 f. 
See Matth., §§ 475, 477. 

785. (poiras §', etc. This passage indicates the extent of Love's do- 
minion : thou rangest over the sea and among the rural cottages — in casis 
agrestibus. Some interpret aypovopois avXals as meaning the lairs of wild 
beasts, but av\aX is used only to denote the abodes of man, — inrepirovrios 
as an adverb, see Host, Parallel-Gr., p. 388. Matth., 446. 

787. a&avdrwv ovdels. This seems to be in contradiction with Horn., 
Hymn, in Ten., 7 ff, where Minerva, Diana, and Testa, are mentioned as 
exceptions. — (pv^ifios has an active signification =. fivvarai (pevyeiv, potest 
effugere. Matthiae, 422. 

789. a/iepiccv eV avSpuiroov, among ephemeral men. Concerning hr\ in 
this passage, see Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., p. 247. But o^ueptW en-' is prob- 
ably an unusual tmesis for icpapepicov, as in ^Esch., Prom., 547 : rls i<pa- 
fieplow ap-q^Ls ; Id., 253. — 6 §' %x (i3V i "*) sc - epcora, The sense: and who- 
ever is possessed of thee is driven to madness, becomes infatuated. Comp. 
Plat., Phaedr., p. 239: avrjp ix^v epoora, "an impassioned man." The 
same author, p. 241, puts love and madness in the same category : vovv 
kolI <ro)(ppo(rvvriv hvr ipcaros kolL fxavias. From this general observation the 
Chorus passes to the sad effects it has had upon Haemon's mind. 

Axtistrophe. — Love perverts the minds of the upright to injustice, 
and it is that which has stirred up this strife between father and son ; 
but the potent charms of the maiden win the victory over filial duty. 
Love is a compeer of the great moral laws, and irresistibly turns the 
scale. 

791 f. ah kcu BiKaicou, etc. The sense is : thou pervertest the minds of 
the just to injustice in reviling. The Schol. explains : wsre ras cppevas 
avr&v adlxovs yivecr&ai. Haemon, blinded by this passion, has been be- 
trayed into unjustifiable reprehensions of his father's acts. 

794. veiKos avdpccv lvva.ip.ov, instead of veikos avdp&v £vvo.t}j.av, family 
quarrel. Germ. : Verwandienzwist. Bernhardy, Gr. S., 427. 

795. viko. is used absolutely, as in v. 233. — Xuepos is here put for epcos, 
which is imagined as issuing from the eyes of the beloved maiden, and 
taking possession of Hsemon. Comp., sup., 784. Stephanus Thesaur. : 
"'ifjLepos est etiam id in oculis, quo intuentium amor conciliatur." Her- 
mann explains : " potentior est pulcrae virginis oculorum desiderabilis 
suavitas, nee cedit Haemon patri." But j'uepos is not an attribute of the 
eyes, but rather the passion which is kindled by epos in the bosom of the 
lover, and which then prevails over other passions. iEschylus, Again., 
743 : [AaAScucbv bjiixoLTOiv /3eAos. 



202 NOTES 

798. Twv fxeydk. irdpedpos, etc., associated with the great laws in council, 
the peer of the great moral laws. The passage has reference to the con- 
flict in Ilgemon's feelings. By the side of the heaven-born laws estab- 
lished in man's breast to regulate his words and actions (Comp. (Ed. 
Tyr., 865 ff.), Love takes his place, disturbing the reason, biassing the 
judgment, and triumphing over all other duties and obligations. 

800. a,uaxos . . . 'A^poSira, for the matchless goddess of love inter- 
med'dles — spoils the council with her play. She was always the attendant 
of "Epoos. Plat., Sympos., 180, E : ovk ecrriv avev "Epcaros 'A^poSn-Tj. 

801-5. As usual the entrance of a character is announced in ana- 
pests. — freer pup, in a sense similar to that above, for, as Haemon is impelled 
by love to violate what is right and proper, so the Chorus, in giving way 
to its emotion so far as to shed tears of sympathy for one condemned by 
the king, is urged out of that manly and impartial composure which its 
position and office require. See Hor., Ars Poet., 193 seqq. — e|co epepofxeu. 
Comp. iEsch., Prom., 883 : e|o> ^p6fiov rpepo/jLcu. 

804. rbv TrayKotrav — frdkainou, the all-composing chamber of death. Cf. 
810. (Ed. Col., 1563 : rav TrayKev&ri /cara> veKp&v irXdita. The ace. is 
gov. by avvTovcrav, which signifies motion. 

806. Antigone is now led forth from the king's palace on her way to 
the fatal vault, and, while lingering upon the stage, bemoans her lot in 
lyric strophes, fraught with deep and noble feeling. Her words are ad- 
dressed to the Chorus, composed of her fellow-citizens. 

807. vedrav = varTdrrju. The following viarov is used adverbially, for 
the last time. Comp. Ajax, 857 : "HKlou irpocrevveiro) iravvaraTov §r\ kovttot 
av&is vcrrepov. 

812. ov& vfxevaicav eyKXvpov, nuptiarum expertem. Brunck. It is a 
subject of particular regret to Antigone that she is to be cut off before 
attaining this principal purpose of woman's existence. She recurs to it 
again, 869, 876, 917. Comp. Eurip., Iph. Taur., 230 : aya/jLos, 'dreKvos, 
diroAis, acpiKos. 

814. ovt* — vjAvricrev. The finite verb takes the place of the construc- 
tion used in the first member. We should expect v/jlj/tjtjjp emvvixcpeiy 
v/jLi/cp. This passage alludes to the marriage-customs which prevailed in 
Athens. The nuptial ceremonies and feast took place at the house of the 
bride's father : when, in the evening, the bridegroom carried his bride in 
a carriage to his own house, they were attended by their friends on foot, 
. carrying torches, singing the wedding-song (pfxevaiov), and playing on the 
flute and other instruments. After the newly-married couple had been 
thus conducted into their chamber (&aAa,uos), the friends remained before 
the door for some time and sung the epithalamium, which is here called 
the eVwu/x^eios vfxvos. K. F. Hermann's Dom. Antiq. of the Greeks, § 31. 



NOTES. 203 

816. pvfM<p6v<rco. Comp. 654. 

817. Some critics regard this and the following verse as spurious, 
partly on account of their purport, and partly from the dissimilarity, in 
the number of verses, to the other responses of the Chorus. — iiraivov 
exova-% with praise; afterward, 853, 873, the Chorus speaks of her con- 
duct with disapprobation. 

819-22. The Chorus kindly seeks to derive some consolation for An- 
tigone from the very thing of which she has just complained, that she 
descends into Hades alive. The sense : neither smitten with wasting dis- 
ease, nor meeting the recompense of the sword. — e7ri%ejpa means a reward 
paid into the hand. Germ. : Handgeld. As decapitation by the sword 
was not common among the ancient Greeks, Jacobs concludes that the 
expression means mortal wounds received in battle. Hermann : " £f$eW 
eirixeipa sunt prsemia ensium, i. e., id, quod ensibus congrediendo effici- 
tur, quod est vi aliquem interfici. Latine dicas, munere belli." 

821. avrovofjLos, of m your own will, because Antigone from the begin- 
ning knew and accepted the consequences of her act. 

823. Antigone is reminded of the similar fate of Xiobe, who was the 
daughter of Tantalus, King of Lydia, and granddaughter of Jupiter. 
She married Amphion, King of Thebes. When, by her boasting, she had 
incurred the anger of Latona, and been suddenly bereft of her children, 
she was compassionately changed by Jupiter into stone, and carried by a 
whirlwind into her native land to Mount Syphilus, where she perpetually 
weeps over her bereavement. Comp. Ovid, Metamor., vi., 176 seqq. 
This tradition, which is commemorated by Homer, II., xxiv., 602 ff., was 
probably occasioned by a mountain-crag, which resembles the form of a 
woman in grief. Pausanias relates (i., 21, 3) that he had ascended Mount 
Syphilus to see it ; that, when viewed near at hand, it bears no resem- 
blance to the female figure, but, seen at a greater distance, it is the image 
of a weeping and sorrowing woman. Our poet's version of the myth 
represents her as enveloped with a stony incrustation, and thus, like An- 
tigone, embedded in a rocky tomb. Hence Electra (Soph., EL, 150) thus 
apostrophizes her : s Io> iravrXafioov N^jSa, aV eV rdcpcp 7rerpaia) ael 5a- 
Kpveis. 

826. rau KKTa-bs ws areu^s, etc., whom a rocky growth (or incrustation), 
like close-drawn ivy, overpowered. Musgrave placed a comma after &s 
without reason, since arei^s, strained, is a more proper epithet of ivy 
than of rock. Erfurdt: hedera firmiter adhaerens. The Schol. says the 
rock grew up around her, as ivy around a tree. 

828. Kat viv ofifi. — \direi, and never, as the story goes, do the rain and 
snow leave her melting (pining) with grief. Homer's expression is nydea 
Trecrcrei, broods over her sorrows. The part. raKo^ivav (Dor. for TTjKQueunp) 



204 NOTES. 

beautifully suggests the image of melting snow. Musgrave's emenda- 
tion, u/jLppoi, instead of the vulg. o^pw, has been adopted by recent edi- 
tors. 

831. reyyei, sc. Niobe. AVunder renders: sed semper lacrimantibus 
oculis cervicem humectat. The words dtypves and feipddes possess here a 
forcible significance, being employed by the ancients to denote both the 
parts of a mountain and those of the human body. Some MSS. have &' 
after reyyei. — § == ravrr). 

834. See note to 823. Comp. Ov., Met., vi., 172 ff. The Chorus re- 
proves Antigone for presuming to compare herself with a person of divine 
parentage ; admits, however, that it is a great fame to die in a godlike 
manner. 

836. Constr. : kolitoi (pfrifiipq) [earl] fxiya clkovccli Kax^v eyKXrjpa ro7s 
Ico&eois. The sense is : although it is a great thing for a mortal to be said 
to have obtained a like fate with demigods. The Scholiast explains : Zy- 
K\rtpa. Koiw, ofjioia, rod avrov K\i\pov kolI tvxtis* It is here used in a pas- 
sive signification, shared by. For a/coDcrat, in the passive sense to be said, 
see Herm., Vig., p. 224. It is thus equivalent to the substantive /cAeos, 
fame. Boeckh considers the passage highly sarcastic : " and yet for a 
mortal to enjoy a lot equal to the godlike is a great fame." 

838. yeXa/jLcu. Antigone is too much occupied with the real horrors 
of her impending fate to think of the vain renown of dying like Niobe. 
The offering of such a consolation sounds like a bitter mockery of her 
distress. 

840. ovk oWvfxivav. Dindorf adopted this reading from Cod. Dresd., 
a., for the vulg. oXofxivav, Boeckh : ovXofievav. In this connection, oX- 
Xvfxivav, taken as the opposite of tmtyavTov (lit. visible = enjoying the 
light), may signify consigned to the tomb. Brunck : Quid me, per patrios 
deos y nondum mortuam, sed luce fruentem adhuc, contumelia afficis ? 

845. €jj.iras — siriKTWjxai, I take you all together as witnesses. The 
Schol. explains this verb by i-m^occfxai, I appeal to you, etc., like iiri/xap- 
rvp/xai vjj.as. 

847. oia cpixaiv 'cutXavros, how unwept by friends. For the gen. see 
Matth., 343. Bernhardy, Gr. Synt.. p. 172. 

849. iroTaivlov, unheard of as only the dead are usually laid in the 
grave. Hence Erfurdt : insoliti. 

851. ovr Iv fiporois out* iy veKpoicriu. Dindorf rejects this verse as 
spurious. 

852. fiiroiKos, a resident. In Athens this term was applied to all for- 
eigners who had taken up their abode in that city. Cf. Demosth., Phil., 
L, § 36. For the sentiment, comp. Eurip., Suppl., 968 : ovr* eV tois <p&i- 
pivots ovr* iv (wcrw api^ixov^ivt], x°°P iS ^ TlV0L T & v ^ *X ov(ra ^olpav. 



NOTES. 205 

853 ff. As Antigone, in her appeal to the public sympathy, has pre- 
sented herself in the attitude of an innocent sufferer, the Chorus reminds 
her that she has brought this calamity upon herself. She has grossly 
violated Justice, the guardian of law and order in the state. But, as if 
to soften this severe rebuke, the Chorus admits that she is not entirely 
responsible for the act — she has been urged on by that malign influence 
which has involved each of her family in ruin. 

853. irpofiac? iir ecrxarov, etc. The sense: proceeding to the extreme 
of audacity, my child, you have grievously offended against the sublime seat 
of Justice ; that is, in defying the highest civil authority, you have struck 
at the foundation of justice. — ttoXv, vehementer. Some question the pro- 
priety of this word. Cod., Laur. A. : ttoXvv. 

856. ircLTpyov — adAov. The sense : but you are fighting out an ances- 
tral struggle. A series of crimes on the one hand, and punishments in- 
flicted by the arrj on the other, are here regarded as a contest, which is 
only to end with the doomed family. As some extenuation of Antigone's 
guilt, the Chorus suggests that she is bearing her share of the inevitable 
fatality of her race. Comp. 584 seqq. That the word irarptcov applies 
not only to (Edipus, but to the whole family, is sufficiently shown by 
Antigone's reply. 

857. nzpifAvas. This may be either a gen. sing, or ace. plural ; tyaveiv 
admits either case. I prefer, with Boeckh, to consider it an ace, and 
oTktov in apposition with it. The sense : you have touched upon sorrows 
most painful to me — the oft-repeated grief for my father, and all our evil 
destiny, in the history of the famous Labdacidce. So Bernhardy explains 
the dat., kXsivoIs Aa/38 a/a§ clkt iv, Gr. Synt., p. 79. Others make it depend- 
ent on irSr/xov : the destiny come upon the Labd. — rpiiroXia-rov seems to be 
compounded of the intensive particle rpi-, rpts-, and iroXeca = noXifa ; cf. 
avairoxifa, meaning, primarily, to plough or turn over the soil, and metaph. 
to repeat. The Schol. correctly : iroXXaKis avaTreicoX'ny.evov. Thus un- 
derstood, the term aptly expresses the numerous heart-rending sorrows 
which she had been called on to endure. Comp. vv. 2-7, and note to v. 
4, 463. Boeckh interprets : des Voters vielberufenes Leid (my father's 
far-famed sorrow) ; but Antigone speaks of what she herself had ex- 
perienced. 

862. fxcLTpyai agrees in sense with XeKTpccu: alas, the fatal mischief s 
of my mother's bed! That incestuous union she regards as the chief 
source of her evils. Comp. a similar constructio ad sensum, 794. 

864. In the same way abroyewnra may be joined with irarpl. The 
sense : and the embraces of my mother with my unhappy father, born of 
herself, since he was both her son and husband. Comp. 53. (Ed. Tyr., 
1250. — dvstJ.6pcp, from Laur. A., instead of the vulg. Bus^Spov. The dat. 



206 NOTES. 

TvarpL depends on Koi^jxara, following the construction of the cognate 
verb (Koi/jLacrSai rivi), Matth., 389. 

866. oLu3v (ko i /XT] parcels), etc., of which union I am the wretched off- 
spring. Corop. 38. 

868. apaios, accursed, viz., on account of their sins. Schol. — fieroiKos 
epx- I am now emigrating. 

869. Antigone then comes to another but more immediate cause of 
misfortune, the marriage of Polynices with the daughter of Adrastus, 
without which the expedition of the Argives against Thebes would not 
have taken place. By thus tracing her downfall to antecedent circum- 
stances she makes it appear that she is more unfortunate than guilty. 

871. Savcov — Kar-fji/apes fie, by your death you have slain me yet living, 
i. e., your death was the cause of mine. Comp. Trachin., 1163 : favrd {£ 
iwreivev Savwv. Ajax, 1027. 

872. crefieiv, understand Kacriyv-qrov. The idea is : the paying funeral 
honors to your brother was (in itself) a commendable act of piety. Cf. 943. 
The Chorus proceeds to place the matter in its proper light. 

873. Kpdros 5', supply tovtov. The sense : but the power of him to 
tvhom the power of right belongs, is on no account to be violated. 

875. avrSyvcoros = avr6fiov\os. Your own self-willed temper has 
destroyed you. Comp. JSsch., Sept. c. Theb., 1053. Erfurdt : " avr6- 
yvecros est, qui ex sua tantum animi sententia (yuccprj) unumquidque 
agit." 

876. Epodos. — Antigone recurs to the same lamentations with which 
she began, 806. — 'duAavros, &<pi\. ai/vju. See note 812. 

879. rdvft eroifxav bhou. Antigone means the death specially pre- 
pared for her. For the ace, see Matth., 408, 5. 

880. Constr. : ovKeri frefiis (ecri) fioi raXaiva bpav rode lepbv ofifxa Xa/x- 
7rddos, SC. rod rjXlov. 

881. aoaKpvrov is used to denote the consequence of ovoeh tpix. cre- 
vd£ei : no friend mourns my fate, so that it is tearless. We have noticed 
a similar construction, 791 : aMicovs. 

883. Creon, who had shortly before entered upon the stage, chides 
the executioners for their delay. — ap 'la-re, do ye not know, etc. apa has 
here the sense of nonne. The order is indicated by the Scholiast : ap* 
tcrre, el XP 6 ' 7 ? Xeyeiv aoioas tcaX y6ovs irpo rod &aveiv 9 ovoeirore ris av irav- 
ffairo ; del ovv e/c filas eXiteiv avri]v. 

884. el xpeli}, Boeckh : wenn es frommte, " if it were of any use." 
Schneidewin : si liceret. The former is more in accordance with Greek 
usage. For the part, av repeated, see Matth., 600. 

885. ovk &£e&' (avrrjv). These words have the force of a command, 
and hence are connected with the imperative. Matth., 511, 4. Host, 



NOTES. 207 

Paral.-Gr., p. 446. The interrogation is expressive of Creon's impatience, 
as in (Ed. Col., 846. Comp. also (Ed. Tyr., 945. Herm., ad Yiger, 
p. 740. — Kar-npecpe?, spherically vaulted. Cf. Elect., 381. 

886. ws €%py]KCL. Comp. 7Y4. 

887. XPV S^etV* chooses to die, — xpfj. This reading is preserved by 
the Scholiast, who explains it by the words, xp^C €L ^al &e\ei. The MSS., 
Xp7]> Boeckh maintains XPV to ^ e tne oldest and best reading. The 
second person is found in Ajax, 1373, <rol 5e Spay e£e<r& a XPV S > wnere 
Hesychins explains XPV S ^J 3-eAeis, XPVC €IS * See also Suidas, sub voc. 
XP^ 

888. TV(j.(3ev€ij/ is intransitive. Wunder renders this passage : sive 
mori vult sive tali in thalamo sepulta vivere. Similarly, Boeckh : im Grabe 
wohnen, to be entombed alive. 

889. tovttI — KSprjp, as regards this maiden here. For the expression 
rovirl, see Matth., 282, 586. Wunder: quod attinet ad. Germ.: was bc- 
trifft. The verse intimates some misgivings in Creon's mind, but he tries 
to persuade himself that he has cleared his skirts by ordering a morsel 
of food to be placed in the tomb (comp. 775 f.), and thus leaving it to 
her option to live or die. 

890. 8 s ovu, at all events. The expression is similar to aAA' ovu, ye 
ovv, yovv. See Herm., Yig., 471. — rrjs avca fieroucias the Schol. explains 
by rb fjLt& riixoov clj/w olKelv. The sense is : of living above-ground. 

891. i/vfKpeTov. Cf. 816. She is an affianced bride, and hence apos- 
trophizes the burial-vault as her bridal-chamber. — Karacrica^s = Kare- 
<TKafj.iJ.ep7], excavated. Cf. KaT&pvKos (TTey7]s, 1100. 

892. aelcppovpos, lit. ever-guarding ', said of the grave as an eternal 
prison-house. 

893. irpbs tovs i/javTris, ad meos. Cf. 867. As before remarked, 774, 
it was the family vault, where, as well as in the spiritual world, she is 
going to rejoin her kindred. 

894. oKwXorwv, perished by a violent death. 

895. \oi<r&la. Antigone speaks of herself as the last of her family, 
making no account of Ismene, whom she has disowned. — nxKio-Ta, adv. 
of manner, as in 695. "Wunder explains : longe deterrimo, sive multo 
maxime miserabili fato defuncta. 

896. irpiv fJLoi . . . fiiov, ere my term of life has expired, viz., by a 
premature death. Similarly, 461. 

897. Kapr ev eXiricriv rpecpca, I fondly cherish the hope. In the con- 
viction of having done her duty here, she looks forward with a simple 
yet unwavering faith to a joyful meeting with the loved ones beyond the 
grave. 

899. KCKrlyvrjTov napa = Kaaiyv^re. Cf. 1. She means Eteocles, 



208 NOTES. 

whom she had also buried, and whose love she trusts she has not for- 
feited. Cf. 515 f. 

902. cScaKa, sc. v/jav. See Matth., § 428. — x°" s > c ^- 431, note. 

903. The part. irepia-reWovaa, as denoting the cause of the punish- 
ment, may be rendered, for laying out, that is, burying. Matth., 565, 2. 
— Tom5 5 apuv/xai, I reap such a reward. 

904. rots (ppovovviv eu, for the right-minded. Herm. explains : " et 
tamen te ego, ut sapientibus probarer, honoravi." See Matth., 387. 
These words seem to be spoken in answer to the charge of the Chorus, 
875. She means that she has not followed merely her own impulses 
(avrSyvooTos), but has acted in accordance with the views of all men of 
proper feelings. In their judgment she hopes to be justified. Comp. a 
similar dative, (Ed. Col., 1446. 

905-13. These verses have been declared by Jacob to be spurious — 
an opinion which has been adopted by Wunder, Schneidewin, and others, 
who agree in attributing them to some actor, who, in bringing out the 
play after the death of the author, interpolated the passage in order to 
gratify the well-known taste of the Athenians for such sophisms. This 
judgment rests upon the manifest want of connection between it and the 
context, and upon the flimsy reasonings so inconsistent with our heroine's 
otherwise just and noble sentiments. Aristotle quotes it without objec- 
tion, Rhet., iii., 16. A similar passage is found in Herod., iii., 119, where 
the reasons given by the wife of Intaphernes for preferring her brother 
to her husband and sons, are too identical with those here adduced to 
admit of a doubt that they had a common origin. 

906. iT7]K€To, lit., was wasting away. Lat, tabesceret, commonly used 
concerning the living. Here it refers to children or husband, who might 
be in the same condition as the exposed body of Polynices. We may 
therefore understand it in the same sense as d\e<T^rai, v. 698 : fjL-f]& inr 
cufjLTia'Tcov Kvvajy sXac? bxicr&ai (consumed). 

907. fiia iroXirSov is inaptly borrowed from v. 79, for Antigone does 
not recognize Creon's ordinance as the will of the people, comp. 504 ff., 
914, — rjpSfirjv, Homeric aor. mid., for which Hermann puts the imperf. 
ypofj.r]v. Vulg., avr)p6}xT]v. Schol., vtt£(TT7]v. The sense : I would not have 
undertaken this task contrary to the ivill of the citizens. 

908. v6\xov, rationis ut mox, 914. Musgr. — wphs x^P lv - Comp. 36 : 
irphs x^P lv P°pus* 

909. KaT&avovTos, supply rod irporipov. See Matth., 563. 

910. ei rovd" tf/jL-rrXaKov, if I had lost that (child). 

912. ovk %<tt aSeXcpbs. Sophocles would have written: ovk eo^' oir<as 
adeX. av fiXacTToi irore. The thought is quite absurd, since Polynices was 
no longer living, as was the brother in Herodotus. Schneidewin. 



NOTES. 209 

913. &* iKTrpoTi/j.^(ra(r\ having honored you above all: another incon- 
sistency, for she says, 519, that Hades requires equal rights. — tre can 
only mean Polynices, but it is too far removed from 904 to form a part 
of that apostrophe. 

914. I/Spy, KpiovTi. Schneidewin believes that \xevroi or \x6vy Kpeovri 
was the original reading, whereby Creon would have stood in marked op- 
position tO €V (ppOVOVVTSS. 

921. iroiav — diKrjv, for transgressing what law of the gods? Comp. 
903. — daifj.. Slktjv, comp. &ea>i/ fiS/jLi/xa^ 4:54:. The question refers to the 
reproach of the Chorus, 854. 

922. ri xp'h — ert, how does it behoove me further, etc. Comp. 884. 
Antigone's faith in the divine protection is somewhat staggered when she 
finds herself abandoned by the gods to suffer for an act of duty which 
they must approve. That they should permit her pious devotion to be 
branded and punished as impiety, makes her doubt either their willingness 
or their power to help her. This momentary bewilderment, however, is 
succeeded by the consoling reflection that the truth will at length be 
made manifest, and justice will be vindicated by the punishment of the 
real offender. 

924. The part, evcrefiovs* denotes the means : by pious conduct I have 
earned the reproach of impiety. See Matth., 566, 5. 

925. raS' means this judgment of Creon. — KoXa, acceptable. Comp. 
521 : el K&Tia&ev evayr) ra5e. The Scholiast interprets correctly: el rav- 
ra ro?s &eo?s apecrttei, iraSovres rrju Tifxcopiav, yvoiy\\i.ev rrju a/xapriau. The 
thought is, if these acts of Creon are really approved by the gods — a 
question which only the future will determine — then, that is, after suffer- 
ing death, I shall be conscious of having sinned ; but, if he is guilty, I 
wish he may suffer no worse calamity than he very unjustly inflicts upon 
me. — irc&SvTes is a milder term for &av6vres. Yiger, Gr. Id., 278. Comp. 
Dem., Phil., i., 11. The part, in the masc. plural, instead of the fern, sing., 
according to Matth., 436, 3. — av Ivyyvolfxev (= avveiBeiriixev) in the sense 
of the future, as frequently. Schneidewin interprets it : / must forgive 
what I have suffered, as being guilty. But the ancient Greek religion did 
not inculcate the virtue of forgiveness. 

927. 1X7} irXeio) kolko.. Usually in the drama the sufferer wishes his 
injurer like evils. Cf. Philoct., 775, 1114. Antigone, who regards her 
punishment as excessively cruel, wishes Creon no greater evils, because 
greater cannot be imagined. The particle /cat increases the force of the 
following words, particularly of ekS'ikus, which expresses the firm convic- 
tion that the gods will coincide with her in their decision. 

929 f. aural. Herm. and Boeckh : avrai = at avral. TJie same soul- 
blasts of the same winds still hold possession of this maiden, i. e., she is still 



210 NOTES. 

agitated by the same violent passions as before. — avijicav pnral. Cf. 137: 
pnrous €%^icrrcoi/ ave/jLwv. 

931. roLjap rovrcou, so then for this ; supply evtKa. — tovtqw refers to 
Antigone's lamentations and complaints, for which Creon is incensed at 
the guards, who ought to have led her away. 

935. Sapcrelv ovdkv, etc. This is assigned, by some critics, to Creon, 
and understood as sarcastic. Boeckh properly attributes it to the 
Chorus, whom it suits much better. The same view was taken by the 
Schol. : 6 x°P° s heyth &$ T °v Kpeovros jjltj fier aire ia& euros. The sense is : 
I counsel you to have no confidence that this command will not be so fulfilled. 
I can give you no encouragement. — fify ov. Comp. 97, note. 

938. 3-eol irpoyevels, dii aviti. Hermann says : Sunt illi antiqui dii 
Mars et Yenus, Harmonise, Cadmi conjugis, parentes. In JEsch., Sept. 
cont. Theb., 105, the former is invoked : iraXaix&uv v Ap?7s, antique soli 
'possessor; and the latter, v. 140 : nai Kvirpis, yevovs irpofxarcop, generis avia, 
with Jupiter, v. 117: Zed irdrep iravreXes, pater supreme. Comp. Ajax, 
388 : ^H Zed irpoySuwu irpoiraTccp. 

940. ol Koipavibai = Koipavoi. The Scholiast considers these words 
addressed to the aged citizens composing the Chorus. This term, he 
says, was applied, not only to kings, but also to distinguished citizens. 
It is more probable that Antigone, after her ancestral gods, apostrophizes 
the illustrious kings from whom she was descended, as she does her own 
family, 898 ff. After the severe reproof of the Chorus, 872-5, she would 
not naturally again appeal to their sympathy. For the nom., instead of 
the vocative, see Matth., Ill, 1. Schneidewin prefers, with Emperius : 
tV Koipavidav (the last of the royal family). 

941. Dindorf strikes out this verse as an interpolation. It is sup- 
ported, however, by the best authorities, and no change seems to be ne- 
cessary. The Schol. : rV j8a<nAi8a • t))v &a<ri\eiav. Hermann : Est autem 
fiacriXls pro adjectivo : earn quae sola de regia gente reliqua est. — Xonrrji/, 
cf. 895, \oio-&la, and note. 

942. ola — 7rriVxa>. This verse is properly the object of Xevcrcrere, the 
preceding ace, ttjv j3ao'i\ida, easily coalescing with the subject of 7rdVx&>. 
The general sense is : behold, ye princes of Thebes, what cruelties I, the 
only surviving scion of the royal race, suffer, and from what men. As ex- 
amples of a similar construction, comp. iEsch., Prom., 92 : VSecfre \j? ola 
irpbs &ewv iracx® &eos, in which p is equivalent to iydo ; and Demosth., 
Phil., iii., § 61 : rbv Evtppcuov, ola eiraxte, jULe/jiprjfjLepoi. 

943. o-eplo-ao-a, comp. 903, 921. The sense : for piously fulfilling a 
holy duty. In these closing lines the character of the heroine appears in 
its full grandeur. She is the last of a race of kings who traced their lin- 
eage to the gods ; and now for an act, sanctioned as a religious duty by 



XOTES. 211 

the laws of the gods and universal custom, by the fiat of a tyrant of yes- 
terday, she is led forth to an ignominious death. When first arraigned 
before Creon, she had, with the boldness of the Christian Apostles, avowed 
the position that she ought to obey the gods rather than men, and in 
these her last solemn words she proclaims to the world that she perishes 
for her devotion to her family and her religion. 

944 ff. While Antigone is led away to the fatal vault, the Chorus 
seeks to reconcile her to her lot by showing the irresistible power of des- 
tiny, as exhibited in the sufferings of three illustrious persons of heroic 
times : Danae, Lycurgus, and Cleopatra, who were likewise immured 
alive in subterranean dungeons. — er\a teal Aavdas de/xas, even Danae 1 s 
noble form endured (had) to resign the light of day, etc. For the circum- 
locution Aavdas $efj.as, see Matth., 430. Cf. v. 1 of this play. — ir\a, cf. 
II., v. 385 : r\r\ fxkv "Apris, pertulit. With the inf., Msch., Again., 1041 : 
rXrivai kcu (vyoju &iyew fita. The fable alluded to relates that Acrisius, 
King of the Argives, having been warned by an oracle that his daughter 
Danae should give birth to a son by whom he would be killed, confined 
her in a subterranean chamber of which the walls were fined with brazen 
plates. Nevertheless, Jupiter, transformed into a shower of gold, gained 
access to her through the ceiling. — xa^KoSerojs. The walls and ceiling 
of the chamber were covered with brass plates fastened on with nails, as 
has been found in the Thesauros of Mycenae. Pausanias (ii., 23, 7) re- 
lates that he saw in Argos this " underground dwelling, over which was 
the brass chamber which Acrisius once made to guard his daughter in." 
See Apollod., ii., 4, 1. Hor., Od., hi., 16 : Inclusam Danaen turris 
ahenea, etc. 

946. iu rvfifi-hpei &a\dfvp, in a tomb-like bridal-chamber, thus marking 
its similarity to the vault intended for Antigone. 

949. yevez riixios (?)v), nobilis erat. She was also a king^ daughter. 

950. ra^i6U€o-/ce, was treasure-keeper of; which the Scholiast explains 
without figure : ip avrfi el^e ras yovds rod Aios • l b ecrriv • eyicvos r\v. — 
Xpv&opvTovs, gold-showering. 

951. a poipiSia 5uz/acns, etc., but the power of fate is a terrible one. — 
fjLOLpiSia, inst. of the gen. Woipuv. Cf. 987. 

952. 6\(3os, some erroneously read 6/j.^pos. — itccpvyoiev may be taken 
in a causative sense : can enable to escape or avoid. 

955. Axtistrophe 1. — Another example of a similar fate is furnished 
by the story of Lycurgus, the Thracian king, who, for his contemptuous 
treatment of Bacchus and his attendants, was immured in a rocky prison. 
In the version of the fable, followed by Homer, II., vi., 130 ff., Jupiter 
punished his impiety with blindness. Apollod., iii., 5, 1. 

955. C^X^i similar to KaTe(ei>x^Vi 946 ; recalling the story of 



212 NOTES. 

Danae. The only point of similarity consists in this, that they were con- 
fined alive. — o|uxoAos, hot-tempered. Yirgil commemorates his passionate 
disposition, iEn., iii., 13 : 

Terra procul vastis colitur Mavortia campis 
(Thraces arant), acri quondam regnata Lycurgo 

Homer, in the passage above cited, calls him hv'5po<p6vos ; Ovid, sacri- 
legus. 

956. 'Hdwvajv. Populi Thracii, ad Edonem montem et Strymonem 
fluvium incolentis. Vide Plin., Hist., N. iv., 11 ; et Gierig, ad Ovid., Met., 
xi., 69. Wunder. — KepTOjxiois opycus, dat. of cause, by reason of his con- 
temptuous anger. A specimen of Lycurgus's insulting language to Bac- 
chus is given by Aristophanes, Thesmophor., 136. 

957. e/c Aiop. KaTd(papKTos. This does not mean that he was bound 
by Bacchus himself, but at his instigation. Apollodorus, 3, 5, 1, relates 
that Lycurgus was carried by the attendants of the god to a rocky cave 
of Mount Pangaeus, and chained there. — KardcpapKros, Cod. Laur. A., by 
metathesis for KardcppaKros. 

959. Constr. : ovtco Beivbv av&ripbv re jxivos ras fiavlas airoffrdfei, thus 
(i. e., in this condition) the violent and fresh-foaming power of his madness 
trickles (or oozes) away. — av&rjpbi/ seems to express a fancied resemblance 
to a white blossom observed in the foam on the mouth of a raging maniac. 
Boeckh understands it in this sense : wildaufschaumender Grimm. Comp. 
a similar metaphor, Trachin., 1000 : tiavias &v&os. iEsch., Agamem., 
744 : epcoros 'dvfros. The present farovrdfa implies that Lycurgus is still 
writhing in his rocky prison, as Xiobe ever weeps, 831. 

960. Kelvos ziriyvo), etc. The sense is : he became conscious (in his 
lucid moments) that in his madness he provoked the god with his insulting 
tongue. — iv Kepr. yXdxrcrais, instead of the simple dat. of the instrument, 
Matthiae, 395, n., and sing, for pi., as frequently. Hermann and others 
join iiriyvo) rbv &ebv, cognovit deum. 

964. iv&eovs ywcuKas, the god-inspired women, i. e., the Bacchantes, 
Thyiades, Maenades, who marched and danced in nocturnal processions, 
swinging blazing torches and shouting, even, evoi ! evoe, evoe ! hence the 
expression eviov nvp, the mystical fire, noticed more fully 1146. Por the 
attendants of Bacchus, see K. F. Hermann's Kelig. Antiq. of the Greeks, 
p. 136. Eurip., Bacchae, passim. 

965. (piXavKovs — Movaas. The Muses, originally attendants of Apollo, 
were afterward associated with the followers of Bacchus, while the an- 
cient cithara was exchanged for the flute. Creuzer, Symbol, iii., p. 181. 

966 ff. The two closing strophes are devoted to the story of Cleopatra 
and her two sons, whose imprisonment furnishes the third example of 



NOTES. 213 

this fate. The fable is variously told ; the version followed by our poet 
is as follows : Cleopatra, the granddaughter of Erechtheus, King of 
Athens, and daughter of Boreas, was the wife of Phineus, King of Sal- 
mydessos, to whom she bore two sons, Plexippus and Pandion. Phineus, 
having afterward repudiated her, shut her up in close confinement, and 
married Idaea, the daughter of Dardanus, King of Scythia. The second 
wife, becoming jealous of the ill-treated Cleopatra, accused the latter's 
two sons of attempting to violate her person. Thereupon Phineus deliv- 
ered them up to their enraged step-mother, who dug out their eyes with 
a weaver's comb, and then imprisoned them in a vault. 

966. Of this verse there are numerous emendations ; that of Schnei- 
dewin affords the clearest sense : irapd §e Kvaveav TreAcryeW SiSi^uwz/ 7re- 
rpau, near the Cyanean rocks of the double sea. The Kvdvzai irirpai, or 
Kvdvsai 'SvfjLirXriydSes, are frequently mentioned in the story of the cele- 
brated expedition of the Argonauts. They were two small, rocky islands, 
marking the boundary of the Euxine and Bosporus, and were said some- 
times to dash together and crush the vessels sailing between them. 
They hence received the name (TvfX7r\riyddes, crvvdpondSes, <TvvopiJ.d8es 
Trerpai. Eurip., Iph. Taur., 12-4 : Tlovrov Bljtcls crvyx^povcras irerpas 
Ei>£eiVou; 393: Kvdveai ctvuoBol fraXdo-o-as ; also 423, 753. Comp. Pom., 
Mela., ii., 7, 19: contra Tfiracium Bosporum duae parvae (insula e), par- 
voque distantes spatio et aliquando creditae dictaeque concur r ere, et Cyaneae 
vocantur et Symplegades. — irapd with gen., by or near ; Matth., 588. 

967. oKTol Bocrirop., sc. elcriu. The Chorus, with the minuteness of 
epic narrative, describes the locality which was the scene of the horrible 
deed. 

969. 'XaX/j.v^Tio-a-hs. There was a town, bay, and river of this name 
at the mouth of the Euxine, on the Thracian side of the Bosporus. 
Situated near was the town of Phinopolis. This coast was a dangerous 
one for navigators, and was also infested by pirates (Xen., Anab., vii., 5, 
12 f.), who frequently fought over their booty from the wrecked vessels, 
and killed each other. It is doubtless in reference to this belligerent 
character of the people that Mars is called ayx'nroXis, the neighboring, 
that is, guardian divinity. Already Homer, II., xii., 3C1, calls Thrace 
the home of Ares and his son Phobos (terror) ; and Virgil, Mavortia 
regna. 

971 f. aparhv. Schneidewin : apalov. — apax&ev, instead of the vulg. 
Tv(p\co&4v, is adopted by Dindorf and "Wunder, and is the most appropri- 
ate word. Cf., supra, 52 ; (Ed. Tyr., 1276. The passage may be ren- 
dered : where the presiding Mars saw an accursed wound inflicted upon 
Phineus 's two sons by his infuriated wife, (a wound) causing blindness to 
their vengeance-crying eyeballs, etc. 



214: NOTES. 

974. a\aaT6poi(Tiu is explained by the Scholiast : tols #AaoTa ireirov- 
&6criv, y) ro7s Suo-Tvxzcri (luckless). But a\d(TTcop means avenger, comp. 
(Ed. Col., 788 ; and the adj. aXdaropos, properly, avenging. Welcker in- 
terprets it here by the word racheschreiend, vengeance -crying, the revolt- 
ing deed committed upon the innocent boys being one of those unnatural 
crimes which call for divine vengeance. The dative depends upon akabv, 
used in the active signification of bringing blindness. 

975. &Tep& ayxtW' This emendation of Hermann is adopted by 
Dindorf, W under, and Schneidewin, instead of the absurd apax^v lyxe- 
cov found in the MSS. — arep3-e = &v€v. The sense, according to the in- 
terpretation of Triclinius : not with the spear, i. e., with a martial weapon, 
but with blood-stained hands, and the points of the weaver's comb. 

976. The Kepicls was an instrument used by women for striking up 
the threads of the woof in weaving, answering the purpose of the modern 
reed. Its earliest and simplest form was a thin blade of wood or metal ; 
in later times it was shaped like a wedge or fan, and armed with iron 
prongs, so as to strike between several threads at once. Triclin. : <n5?;- 
pwv arpoLKTcau. Hence, in our author's time, the term Kepnis was applied 
to the fan-shaped divisions of seats in the theatre. 

980. fiarpbs is a genetic gen. (denoting origin), and may be rendered 
either by of or from. — avv/uLcpevTov, ill-matched, i. e., married to a bad 
man, agrees in sense with fxarpbs ; comp. 862. In regard to this mean- 
ing of a privative, comp. (Ed. Tyr., 1214 : fr-yapou ydfxov. In a similar 
sense §vcrvv}x<pov, Eurip., Iph. T., 216. The sense is: having birth from 
(= being born of) an ill-wedded mother. So the passage was understood 
by Hermann : deflebant miser am sortem suam, ex infausto matris connubio 
nati. 

981. (nrepfia, = yivos, is an ace. of limitation. The verb avrau, with 
gen., is the same as sivai, belong to, or \tvpziv. Matth., 327. Bernhardy, 
Synt., 176. Some prefer to govern the ace. a"ir€p/xa by &vras\ Comp. 
Philoct., 239: iyca yivos \x.iv elfju rrjs irspippviov ^Kvpov. — a, viz., Cleo- 
patra, their mother. She was the daughter of Orithyia, the daughter of 
Erechtheus. 

984. rpcLtyr), was raised (grew up) among her father's storms. Hartung 
strangely supposes that this verse refers to her imprisonment, and pro- 
poses to read rdeprj. — Bopeas is nom. the daughter of Boreas, the storm- 
god of the North, by whom Orithyia had been carried off from the banks 
of the Ilissus. The fable is mentioned by Plato, Phaedr., p. 229 : curb 
rod y l\icr(rov \eyerai 6 Bopeas t)]v : 'Clpei&viav apird(rai. 

985. a/miinros — irdyov. Woolsey renders : " fleet as a horse over a 
steep hill = bounding over it as swiftly as a horse." Some verb of mo- 
tion, as freieiv, is implied, as in the Homeric expression : &*Uip b.v4fxoi(Tip 



NOTES. 215 

6ij.o7os. The Schol. : raxe'ta, Xcrov anrtp dvvauevri rp&x&v. The expres- 
sion opSoTTodos irdyov is supposed to allude to the rocky precipices of 
Mount Pangaeus, which rise abruptly from their base, and which served 
as a play-ground for the Boreadae. 

986. ,3-eoiz/ 7ra?s\ Her father, Boreas, and her grandfather. Ereehtheus, 
were both regarded as divinities ; to the former an altar was dedicated 
on the Ilissus. to the latter a temple — the Erechtheion — on the Acropolis 
at Athens. Cicero, de Nat. Deo., hi., 19, says : Erechtheus Athenis fili- 
aeque ejus in numero deorurn sunt. For the ftoubs Bopeov, see Plat., 
Phaed., p. 229. — aAAa Kan iKeiva, yet even upon her. etc. The idea is, 
that, notwithstanding her high parentage and wonderful fleetness, the 
hoary Fates seized upon her ; this refers of course to her incarceration by 
Phineus. 

9S8. Teiresias, the old blind priest and seer, comes to announce to 
Creon the wrath of the gods, and to warn him of the fearful consequences 
of persisting in his wicked measures in regard to Polynices and Antig- 
one. A boy leads him by the hand. — avaxres, nobles, or lords, spoken to 
the chief men of the city, composing the Chorus. See 159 f. Similarly 
in (Ed. Tyr., 911, Jocasta addresses the Chorus: x^P as avaKres. urlis 
hujus prineipes. (Ed. Col., 831. 

990. avrri KeAeud-os, this manner of walking, viz., by the aid of a 
guide. 

994. li ophr\s (doov) in the right way, i. e., prosperously. — vavK\7)peh 
xoAii/, you guide the ship of state. Comp. 189, and inf. 1058. JEsch., 
Sept. c. Th., 652 : yvubi vavKXripziv ttoXiv. Yalckenar's emendation, tt,v$ 
ivavK\r)peis, is unnecessary, the present tense more fitly expressing what 
has so recently begun and still continues. 

995. Constr. : ix^ \xapTvpdv ttottovSus ovricriua. The sense : I can 
bear witness thai I have experienced the benefits of your counsel. The part, 
joined with uaprvpeiv, instead of the inf., see Matth., 548. Creon alludes 
to the time when the city was besieged by the Argives, and he had saved 
it by the sacrifice of his son Megareus (or Menoeceus), according to the 
injunction of Teiresias. Comp. Eurip., Phoeniss, 927: acpd^ai. Mevoi/cea 
ToV&e 5e? a ? \nr\p irdrpas crov 7rcu5\ 

996. fiefiws iirl £vpov rvx^^i ^ l0 ^ V°~"- are HOW a C J ' : '^' 1 upon the razor s 
edge of fortune. A proverbial expression, after Horn., II., x.. 173. signi- 
fying to be in extreme peril. — fiefius = ay, cf. 6 7, or ecrrccs. Comp. 
Herod., vi., 11. 

997. as, in the sense of erei, or yap. — a-roaa = \6yov, Schol. The 
sense is : for I dread your communication ; lit. , shu elder at your mouth. 
Comp. Ajax, 1110. 

998. Sophocles had himself been a priest, and therefore knows the 



216 NOTES. 

craft. Boeckh. C. F. Hermann (Relig. Antiq. of the Greeks, § 33) has 
shown that the office of the /xolptis was distinct from that of the priest 
(lepevs) ; the latter offered prayers and sacrifices, while the former was 
the inspired interpreter of the divine will. Xenophon, Mem. Soc, i., 1, 3, 
mentions four principal sources from which the materials of divination 
were drawn : birds, voices, portents, and sacrifices. Comp. iEsch., 
Prom., 484 ff. 

999. fraKov opviSo<TK6irov. This augur's observatory was still shown 
in the time of Pausanias, lib. ix., 16. Cf. Eurip., Bacch., 347. 

1000. \ifjL-f}i>, haven, in the sense of the ancient technical word tem- 
plum, meaning a limited space selected by the augur as the field of obser- 
vation. Cf. Liv., i., 7. 

1002. K\d(ovTas, instead of the gen. K\a£6vT<av ; this constructio ad 
sensum is explained in Matthiae's Gr., 434, 2, note. — PefiapfiapcDjjLej/q), con- 
fused, and therefore impossible to be interpreted by the augur. 

1003. kolL GirwvTas, etc., and I knew they were tearing one another with 
their talons in deadly fight. — ip xo^vw* for the simple dat. of instru- 
ment. Cf. 968. — cpovais, cf. 696. It may be rendered by the adv. phrase, 
to death. 

1004. yap gives a reason for this opinion, for the violent whirring of 
wings vms not insignificant, that is, plainly showed that they were fighting 
fiercely. Being blind, he judges by the sound alone. 

1005. i/jLirvpcav £yev6fj.r)j/, I made trial of divination by fire, or the burnt- 
sacrifice, viz., in order to ascertain whether the previous bad tokens 
should be confirmed. Pliny calls this mode of divination ignispicia ; it 
was one of the earliest known among the Greeks. iEschylus ascribes 
the origin of it to Prometheus. Cf. Prom., 498 : <p\oycoira a"nfj.aTa i&jj.- 
/jLaTcoffa signa ignea revelavi. Eurip., Iph. Taur., 16. In after-Homeric 
times it was superseded by the extispicia, or examination of the viscera 
of the victim. — iyev6/jL7)v = tireip&}x7)v. Brunck : " yeveoftai valet ex- 
periri, periculum facere" 

1006. fioofjLoicri -KajjjpxinTOKTLv, upon the full-blazing altar. A hot fire 
was kindled with dry twigs (cppvyauov) arranged in a particular manner. 
Aristoph., Pac, 1026. The sacrifice, however, which consisted of thigh- 
bones wrapped around with fat, with gall and liver added (^Esch., Pr., 
495 f.), did not in this instance burn with a clear flame. The diviner's 
opinion was formed from the manner of the burning : it was a favorable 
omen if the apex of the flame was high, bright, and clear ; and the con- 
trary if it was darkened with smoke and soot. Seneca, (Ed., 309. 

1007. Constr. : a\\' ktjkIs Mplcw juuS&ca iiri o"irod$ ir^Kero, etc., but 
the fat of the thigh-joints, trickling down upon the embers, was consumed^ 
and smoked, and sputtered. 



X T E s . 21Y 

1009. fierdpcrioi, into the air, as adverb, Matth., 446, 6. 

1010 f. Karappvels . . . TTL/j.e\rjs. The sense : the thigh-bones running 
down (i. e., with fat) lay bare of the fat wrapped around them. — Notice the 
difference between firjpoi and firipla, 1008 ; the latter signifies the thigh- 
joints with some portion of flesh npon them, while \x.r\poi denotes the 
same bones denuded of flesh. These are described as Kxrappvus, as, by 
a common use of language, any thing upon which a liquid runs is said to 
run or flow with it. Thus a knife is said to flow with blood ; the face 
with perspiration. — /caAuTrr?)*, in a passive sense, adipis circumdati. 
Boeckh : umgehulltes Fett. It refers to the slices of fat previously 
wrapped around, which were now melted off, leaving the bones bare. 

1012. Connect : roiavra (pMvovra fxa.vTtvijLa.Ta dcr/j/xcov hpy'icav, etc., 
such failing presages of the meaningless sacrifice I learned, etc. — (pSrivovr 
(alluding to 1008 : er^/cero, etc.), consuming, vanishing away, without 
flame. The fia^TevfLara are the oracular elements supposed to indicate the 
will of the gods ; here is meant the oracular flame, which was to guide 
the diviner's judgment, but which failed to appear. — acr?7/xa?z/, unintelligi- 
ble, hence unfavorable, infausta. — opyiwv. Musgrave : sacrificiorum, like 
ifjLTrvpcayy 1005. Comp. Trachin., ^765 : (Tc/jluwu opyicou iSaiero <p\b£ alfxa- 
rrjpd. JEsch., Sept. c. Theb., 180. 

1015. ravra may be considered the object of voctcl, as an accusative 
of kindred signification : the city suffers these ills, labors under this dis- 
ease. Comp. Herod., iii., 33 : rov aru>/j.aTos vovcrov ixzyd\T)v vocrzovros. 

1016. icrx^pai, sacrificial 'hearths, upon which burnt-sacrifices were 
offered. — iravTeXtls = 7raj/r€s, or adv. 7ravT€\&5 9 entirely. Cf. 1163. 

1017. vir ol&ve&v, etc., by means of birds and dogs. These animals 
had mangled and eaten the corpse of Poiynices, and carried it to pol- 
lute all the public and private altars. Comp. 205. — fiopas, the mangled 
flesh. 

1019. kzt\ and hence, viz., in consequence of this pollution. — ov — in, 
similar to the Fr. ne — plus, no more. 

1022. fiefipcoTes aljx. Kiiros y since they have eaten the fat of a slain 
mail's blood. For the plural part, referring to the collective substantive 
opvis, see Matth., 434. Teiresias thus accounts for the ill-boding shrieks 
of the birds mentioned above, v. 1001 f. 

1023. tekvov. Creon may be supposed to be fifty or sixty years old ; 
yet but a child in comparison with Teiresias, who was a man of very ad- 
vanced age. Boeckh. — ydp, referring to (ppSv-ncrov, introduces a general 
reflection, like, to err is human. 

1025. afxaprri, supply rh. — iird with the subjunctive, as in 710. 
Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., 400. Comp. St. John, Ep. I., ii., 1 : idv rts 
ajj.dpTT). 

10 



218 NOTES. 

1026. ostls is kclkIv, etc., who, falling into wrong, repairs it and does 
not remain immovable. — avo\$os, infelix, miser. 

1028. av&adia roi, etc., whereas obstinacy merits the reproach of stupid- 
ity. — 6(p\i(TKdv€i. Comp. 4*70, and iny note to Demos., Phil., i., 42. 
Teiresias urges Creon to relent with general reasonings, much like thoso 
employed by Haemon, '705-23. 

1029. €LK6 t$ fravovTi, yield to the dead. This verb takes the person 
in the dat., and the thing in the gen. Comp. 718, note. Herod., ii., 80. 
— b\w\6ra KevT€i, do not pierce a man already slain, that is, do not wreak 
your vengeance upon a lifeless corpse, with which there can be no con- 
test. 

1030. ris a\/t'77, what valor, said in derision. — top &av6vT i iirucrave?!/, 
to kill the dead over again, is a proverbial phrase like that in v. 1288: 
6\co\6t 'drip' eVe|etp7 acrca ; and Philoct., 946 : ivaipcov v&Kp6p. For the 
construction, comp. 753. 

1031. eu (rot (ppourjcras, etc. The sense: consulting your best good, I 
give you good advice. The 5 with an apostrophe may stand at? the end 
of a verse, though not at the beginning. It is not found in iEschylus ; 
Euripides has it in Iph. Taur., 968. For the thought, comp. 723. 
Creon's reply shows that he remembers the previous admonition of 
Hsemon. 

1033 f. to£6tcii (sc. ro^vffovcn) CKoirov. For ro^eveij/ with the gen., 
Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., p. 175. — avdpbs rovBe, instead of i/xov. Schol. — 
KovBh fxavTiK?is — el/jLi, also not even in divination am I unwrought upon 
(spared) by you, that is, you have even practised upon my credulity with 
your art of divination. For the gen. fiavTiKrjs, consult Matth., 337. 

1035. t&v 5' viral yivovs, i. e., viral toov yzvovs, by the members of my 
family, my relations. Creon evidently suspects a collusion between 
his family and Teiresias, to deter him from his purpose by working upon 
his religious scruples. As before, the watchman, 294, 302 ff., so here he 
imagines the seer, is bribed to thwart his measures. Comp., infra., 1047, 
1055, 1061. — tgou inral. Cf. Elect., 1419 : facriv oi yas viral iceifieuoi, 

1036. The sense: I have long been betrayed and sold. — KaKire<p6pTL(TfjLai. 
The Scholiast explains : irpoSedofxai. <p6pTos y^yivy\\xai. £iroiri<ravT6 ;ue <p6p~ 
top, quoting from Callimachus. 

1037. irphs ^dpdecov, from Sardis. vrpbs is used to denote the place 
from which a thing comes, or where it is produced. Bernhardy, Gr. S., 
p. 264. — TiXsKTpov. The electrum, or silver-gold, was a whitish metal, com- 
posed of four parts of gold and one of silver, not produced by art, but 
found mixed in the ore. It was obtained from the mines of the Tmolus 
mountains, and the sands of the river Pactolus, which ran by Sardis. He- 
rod., v., 101. Ctesias, Frag., § 12. Pliny, Hist. Nat., 33, 23 : ubicunque 



NOTES. 219 

quinta argenti portio est electrum vocatur. Herod., i., 50, calls it Xevxbs 
Xpvcros. Coins of it are still sometimes found in Asia. The gold of India 
was pure. 

1040 f. This scoffing language is intended as a reply to the seer's 
words, 1016 f., that all the altars were defiled by Polynices' corpse. To 
prove that he is not intimidated by what he considers the tricks of priest- 
craft, he utters a bold blasphemy against heaven, and insults the hitherto 
venerated prophet. 

1042. Repetition of the declaration of 1039. Connect ovtf with 
Trapr}<T(d. — c5s — /ultj rpiffas expresses the reason, since I do not dread such a 
pollution, believing it impossible. The subjective neg. fxi\ is rightly em- 
ployed to denote the conviction of the speaker. 

1045. The order : kcu ol iroWa deivol Pporwv TriirTovan cucxpa Trrdo^ara 
(cognate ace). — iroWa, adv., like irdvv. The sense: but even very clever 
men suffer a shameful fall, etc. Philoct., 254 : ir6xX iyeb [xox&ypos, valde 
me calamitosum. Horn., II., xi., 55 7 : ttoAA' aeKcov, adrnodum invitus. 
ttoWol, with an adj., has the force of a superlative, as here, the ablest of 
men. 

1047. KctX&s, plausibly. Comp. (Ed. Col., 774 : crKXwpa /jLaX&aK&s Ae- 
ycau. — K€pdovs xupw, for gain, in sarcastic allusion to 1032. 

1048 f. A reflection upon the incorrigible obstinacy of Creon, as if 
he were absent. In the form of a question Teiresias enunciates the lead- 
ing thought of the play. Comp. 683, 1347. But Creon interrupts him 
in the middle by contemptuously asking : What commonplace is that you 
are uttering ? — iraynoivov. Schol. : r£ fiicp koiv6v. iraci ftoivbv kol\ <pavep6v. 

1051. occpirep, oT/jlcu, etc., as much, methinks, as foolishness is the great- 
est affliction, or curse. — ^ (ppoveiu, desipere. Brunck. 

1052. v6<rov, viz., rod ^ cppouely. — zQvs, as a present, cf. 62. Frail- 
ties are often spoken of as diseases. 

1053. top fiduriu, one who is a seer, with affected respect for his 
official character, kclkoos, with foul language. 

1054. Xeyeis, understand kokqos from the preceding : but you insult 
me, etc. 

1055. rb fiavTiKbv . . . yevos. This is supposed to be a fling at the 
mercenary soothsayers of our author's time, many of whom drove a 
thriving trade by playing upon the credulity of the people. They are 
ridiculed by Aristophanes, Aves, 881 seqq ; Pac, 1045 seqq. Plato, 
Rep., 364, describes them as vagabond jugglers, going about to the houses 
of the rich, claiming supernatural powers, and practising the most bare- 
faced impositions. 

1056. rb 4k rvpavvcav (yevos). 4k is pleonastic. — alcrxpoKepdetav, sordid 
gain. Hermann : " alcrxpoKepBys est homo avarus ac sordidus." Teire- 



220 NOTES. 

sias means that tyrants are supremely selfish, being intent upon increasing 
their power and wealth without regard to justice. Such a one, he im- 
plies, is Creon, who, in contempt of all that is holy and right, is bent 
upon carrying out his nefarious schemes. 

1057. Said with excessive arrogance. — av = a av. For xlyeiv, used 
to govern two accusatives, see Matth., 416, /3. Sense : Do you know that 
you are talking to your master ? 

1058. oT5 5 is briefly significant. The seer is fully aware of what im- 
portance his counsels had been to the king in rescuing Thebes from its 
recent perils, and establishing his authority. — ef ipod, by my aid and in- 
fluence. — e%eis crdxras tt6\lv, tenes urbem, eamque salvam. Hermann. 

1060. raKLvvra 8ia <ppevuv. The sense : thoughts hitherto kept secret 
in my breast. Comp. (Ed. Col. : TaKivnT cirri, tacendas res. Brunck. 
Schol. : tol apprjTa. — Slcl (ppev&v, cf. supra, 639, note. 

1061. Kivet, out with them. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 354 : i^eiclvrja-as t6$€ 
prj/j.a. (Ed. Col., 1526: kivzltcli \6ycp. 

1062. ovTca (sc. \4yeiv), referring to the words jut? M nipSeaiv. The 
force of the negative continues, for the sense is : / think I speak so 
now (viz., without hope of reward), as far as you are concerned. Teire- 
sias says this sarcastically, because his well-meant communications are 
received by the king with anger and scorn rather than gratitude. He 
utters his warnings, therefore, from disinterested motives. For the Attic 
idiom to (tov jxipos, quod ad te attinet, see Stallbaum, ad Plat., Crito., p. 
45, D. Comp. (Ed. Col., 1366. (Ed. Tyr., 1509. So in Trachin., 1215, 
we find rovfxbu fiepos, 

1063. i/uL7ro\7)(T(0v, bribe. The Scholiast explains it by i^airaT^a-ov, 
beguile. 

1064. ev ye tol KaTicrdn, spoken with solemn emphasis in reply to 
Creon's fo^t. But know thou of a surety, thou shalt not complete many 
more racing wheels of the sun's chariot. — Tpoxovs, wheels, used by metony- 
my for the revolutions of wheels, and thus conveying the idea of space. 
As usual in prophetic speech, the expression Tpoxovs rjXiou is vague and 
indefinite : it may mean days, or hours, or even a smaller space. 

1066. iv oTcri, like iv <£, is used as an adverb of time, when, tvhile, etc. 
Herm., Yiger, 606. "Woolsey correctly observes : " Followed by a future, 
it is here used instead of irplp av {before) with the subjunctive." Similar- 
ly (Ed. Col., 619 : iv aTs. It may be rendered : before you shall have 
given up one of your own flesh and blood a corpse in exchange for the dead, 
viz., Haemon, for Antigone and Polynices. In what follows, Teiresias 
brings the dispute to its true issue ; the paramount rights of religion as 
opposed to despotic civil power. 

1068. av& wv because, said for clvtX tovtwv wv (otl), propterea quod. 



NOTES. 221 

Herm., ad Vig., 710. Matth., 480. Here it conveys the idea of retribu- 
tion for the double crime against Nature and humanity. — e^eis f3a\cbi/ = 
e/3a\€s, of which the object is ^ivxhv, meaning Antigone. — roiv 'ducu, 
partitive gen., depending on \J/v%V> or > as Erfurdt thinks, riva, which 
amounts to the same. The idea is, thou hast thrust below a living being, 
and ignominiously confined her in the tomb. 

1069. KaroLKLO'as, vulg., KarcpKicras, both resting on good authority 

1070. The order : e%ei? 5e au iv&dde (duca) vskvv d\xoipov tccu Karcofrev 
3-ew*/, aKT€pL(TTOu, av6(Tiov 9 on the other hand, thou keepest here above-ground 
a corpse, bereft of the gods below (to whom the dead of right belong), un- 
buried, unhallowed. Hermann interprets djjLoipov t&v kolt. 3-ewz/: " com- 
munione cum inferis prohibitum." Comp. Ajax, 1327: rov venphv T<x<pr)s 

djJLOipOV. 

1072 f. wv is a neuter pi., and, like the following ra5e, refers to the 
preceding sentence, viz., withholding the dead from burial. The sense 
is : the right of (doing) which belongs neither to you nor to the upper gods, 
etc. — fxirecTTiv with gen. and dat., Matth., 324. Comp. 48. The Schol. : 
i£ov(r(a didorcu. In a religious point of view, from which alone Teiresias 
judges, Creon's jurisdiction was confined to the living ; the dead were no 
longer of this world, and therefore, notwithstanding the timid admission 
of the Chorus, 213 f., neither an earthly prince nor the gods of this world 
had any authority over them. Hermann justly observes : " Neque Creonti 
dicit mortuorum potestatem esse, neque diis superis, ut quorum in vivos 
tantummodo regnum sit, sed coactos eos a Creonte perferre adspectum 
inhumati Polynicis, qui in ditione sit inferorum." 

1074. rovrwv, for these crimes, supply avrl from 1068, or eVe/ca, cf. 
931. — Kcti^vrripes ixrrepocp&opoi, the retributive destroyers. 

1075. &€&v (dvco) 'Epij/vzs in apposition with Aoof5r)Trjpes. Comp. a 
similar apposition of masc. and fern, substantives, (Ed. Tyr., 80 : £v 'tv'x'O 
t£ (rajrripi. The Euries are the avengers of both the upper and lower 
divinities {inferorum et super orum deorum vindices. Herm.), because 
Creon has outraged both. Electra invokes them as <r€fiva\ &ewv 7ra?Ses 
'Epiz/ues. EL, 114. — "The duty of burying the dead," says Nitsch (ad 
Odyss., xi., 73), "stands under the punitive supervision of the gods." 
The neglect of it, even in the case of enemies, provoked the divine wrath, 
which, as a curse {^vifxa &e&v), pursued him, his family, and his country, 
until it was propitiated. The casting out a corpse to the dogs was an 
act peculiarly revolting, which could not long go unpunished. Thus the 
dying Hector warns Achilles, who threatens to give his body to the dogs 
and birds, of the vengeance of the gods, which would soon inflict a like 
fate upon him. Iliad, xxii., 357. — Aox <£<?'"'? aw tyi< n 9 in wait for you. 

1076. itf roicriv — KaKo7s, ut iisdem in his comprehendaris malls. Brunck. 



222 NOTES. 

The passive Xrjcp^Tjvai may be understood in a middle sense, according to 
Matth., 493, e. The connection shows that the Erinnyes are not to be 
the passive witnesses, but the agents of the divine vengeance. Comp. 
Creon's confession, 1273 f. 

1077. Karri py v pu }x£ vos, from mercenary motives, alluding to Creon's re- 
proach, 1055, 1061. 

1078. (pave? yap — rpifiii, for no long time's delay (or space) will render 
clear the laments of men and women in your house. — xp°' vov Tptfi'h — XP^~ 
vos ; as we say, time will show, in reference to a prediction. — yap refers to 
the assurance implied in the preceding sentence, that he is speaking 
honestly and truly. The idea is, that soon the death-lament will be 
raised for some member of Creon's family. See 1066. 

1080. Having predicted the ills which are about to befall the king's 
family for his misdeeds, Teiresias then speaks of the troubles which 
threaten the whole state. For, as above remarked, 1075, the sins of 
princes are visited upon their countries. Thus in (Edipus Tyran., a pes- 
tilence is sent upon Thebes for the parricide of its king. — By ir6xeis are 
probably meant those towns which belonged to the Theban confederacy. 
These, being situated in the neighborhood of the capital, .-were, by means 
of beasts and birds, involved in the same pollution. Some have under- 
stood this verse as predicting a future invasion, that of the Epigoni, but 
the pres. o-vvrapdcro-ovTai and the connection signify what is actually tak- 
ing place. The sense is : all the towns are in hostile commotion. The 
cause is stated in the following verses. 

1081. ocroov. The relative adj. oaos is often used for oti tocovtos, to 
indicate the reason of something. Matth., Gr., 480, 3. Here, then, ocroov 
is equivalent to on rocrovrcov avtycov. For, not only the body of Poly- 
nices, but also those of the fallen Argives, as we learn from Eurip., Sup- 
plices, had been left unburied. Erfurdt cites Hyginus, Fab., lxx. Ben- 
der : because the dogs or beasts or winged birds of prey have entombed the 
mangled corpses of so many men. Nitzsch, Od., i., p. 188. 

Ibid. Ka^yia-av, have buried, i. e., by swallowing ; sarcastically said 
of the desecration of the dead by dogs, etc., instead of the burial-rites 
due from men. These animals are regarded as the living graves of those 
whom they devoured. So Longinus, iii., 2, says of vultures : yvirts e/x- 
if/vxoi rdcpoi. Also in JEschylus, Sept. cont. Theb., 1020, Polynices is 
condemned to this ignominious burial : rdvff vi? ireTeiviav oloovuv ratyevr* 
arlfjitos. Likewise iEgisthus in Soph., Elect., 1488. Instances of similar 
barbarity are often met with in the Iliad. 

1083. Carrying the noisome stench to the altar ed city, i. e., to the altars 
of the several cities. His meaning is, that these animals were attracted 
from the surrounding country to the putrefying bodies and thence re- 



NOTES. 223 

turned to defile the altars, and spoil the auguries in the other towns, as 
in Thebes itself. Comp., supra, 1016, £ 

1084. Construct : acprjKa roiavra (Seficua ro^ev[xara, wsre ro^orvs, tcap- 
Bias aov fru/z^, yap KvrreTs (ejne), such sure shafts I, as an archer, have dis- 
charged at your heart in anger, for you wound my feelings. This seems 
to have been the understanding of the Scholiast : roiavra Kara tt}s Kap- 
Sias gov ro^evfxara a(f>rJKa /JLtra &v t uov. Keiirei 5e 7] Kara. — /ca/?5fay, gen. of 
the mark aimed at. Comp. 1034. — &vp,<p;, dat. of motive. Matth., 396. 
Brunck : ira contra te motus. 

1086. twj/, Ion. for £>v, whose sting you shall not escape ; said in ex- 
planation of fiefiaia. It is now too late to escape, by repentance, the ful- 
filment of these prophecies. 

1087. di 7tcu, to his guide. "When a speaker passes quickly from one 
person to another, the vocative is usually placed first. Matth., 311, 3. 

1089. Kal yv& rpecpetv, etc., and learn to keep his tongue stiller, i. e., to 
be more respectful. 

1090. rbv vovv . . . <pepei, and the spirit of his mind better than he 
now evinces. The gen. cppevccv depends on vovv. Boeckh : den Sinn seines 
Geisies. The fragment of Euripides quoted above, 621, has &ebs i^acpsi- 
pzlrai <j)peva>v rbv vovv. Cf. (Ed. Tyr., 524 : yvdofxy (ppevcov. Brunck 
likens the expression vovv cpepeiv to that of Plautus, Amphitr., v.. 1 : 
sanarn mentem gestat. 

1091. Similar to 766. — Seiva Seemo-as, after uttering fearful predic- 
tions. — av)]p = 6 avTjp, said of the departing Teiresias. 

1092. The Chorus heightens the force of Teiresias' prophecies by 
bearing witness to his unvarying truthfulness. — The change of number 
iiTLcrrdijieo'^a — afxtpifidWofiai, is to be attributed mainly to metrical con- 
venience. It is here less surprising, as one member speaks for all. The 
present tense of the latter verb, like our perfect, denotes the continuance 
of the condition : ever since 1 have put on (or worn) this white hair instead 
of black. — " e/c," says Woolsey, " denotes a previous state with the idea 
of change = instead of become— from. Comp. (Ed. Bex., 454 : rvcpxbs 
4k dedopK6ros." Demos., Phil., iii., 21 : fiiyas e/c /iiKpov koI raweivov <f>t- 
\nriros Tiv-^nrai. 

1094. fjL-f) ttu> ttot — \o.K£iv, that he has never yet uttered a false prophecy 
to the state. Comp. a similar strong testimony to his character as a 
prophet, (Ed. Tyr., 298 f. : rbv &e?ov fxdvriv dyovcriv, $ ra\7]b\s efxiricpvK^v 
av&p&iruv jjiovca. — \aKe?v (\rjKe7v), often used concerning oracular re- 
sponses, etc. Trachin., 824. Aristoph., Plut., 39 : $o7&os e\a.Kzv, in- 
stead of the more usual exp7?(re. 

1096 f. These words finely express Creon's perplexity. Re must 
choose between two evils. Both horns of the dilemma are bad, but the 



224 NOTES. 

latter is more dreadful than the former. The adversative particle 5e of 
the second member, instead of the usuul kcl'i or re, indicates this prepon- 
derance. The sense : for to yield is hard, but, by resisting (insisting), to 
smite my heart with a (divine) judgment borders upon the terrible = is 
worse. — £v deip$ is equivalent to heiv6v repeated. So Demos., de Chers., 
30 : deipbp by ov SeipSp eVri (though bad, is not the worst) : id., Phil, hi., 
55 : oj>%i irci) tovto Beipop, Kaiwep op SelpSp (not yet the worst, though bad 
enough). Also irdpa (= Trdpea-ri) here conveys the notion of something 
additional, besides, beyond, etc. See Herm., Vig., 651. Hence the phrase 
£p deipw irdpea-Ti may mean, is yet more dreadful, which the sense evidently 
requires. Cf. (Ed. Tyr., 1169 : irpbs avrcp y eljA r$ deipy Xeyeip. Her- 
mann interprets Sv/jt.bp> iram. 

1100. fjLEV, in the first place. — 5e, and then. 

1102. Trapeuca&elv, and cIkg&€?j/, 1096, are aorists with present signifi- 
cation = e?Keip, cf. 718, and, below, 1105. The sense: and do you think 
I ought to give way ? 

1103. crvvTefjLvovcri, with the ace. of a person, quickly overtake. The 
Schol. : <tvvt6ixws fSXairrovcri. — (rvpTefipeiv means to despatch any thing 
suddenly, as with a blow. 

1 1 04. KcwScppopas = Svscppopas, the wicked, those who follow evil coun- 
sels, cf. 1261, 1269. — &\dl3ai, poenae, viz., the 'Epipves frewp, 1075. 

1105. jjl6\is fiep. Supply the ellipsis from the following itfcrrafxcu icap- 
Bias or e'lKco. The Schol. explains : fxoyts /j.e^i(TTa l uaL tt)s irporepas ypdo/xris. 
The passage may be rendered : Oh dear ! I am moved from my purpose 
to do it, although with difficulty. Comp. Eurip., Phoeniss., 1436 : fx6\is 
fxep, ei-ereipe 5' els rjirap £i(pos. Hermann and others explain the expres- 
sion: e£icTTafxai napdlas rb dpap = ireiSoiiai rb dpap. It is perhaps more 
simple to supply wsre with the inf. denoting the effect. The art. rb re- 
dundant, as in v. 77. Comp. ^Esch., Eum., 900 : /xe^iaTa/xai kotqv, iram 
abjicio. 

1106. audyfcn 5* oby). SvspaX', one should not vainly contend against 
necessity. Similarly, (Ed. Col., 191 : /jltj xpefa 7roAefj.a)/j.ep. 

1107. Spa pvp, etc., go and do it now, immediately. The Chorus, as 
above, 1103, advises haste, and, to insure promptness, adds : do not trust 
to others. The MSS. pvp, some ed. pvp. 

1108. a>5 5 cos exo) (rreixoifJ? &v, I will go at once. Comp. Herod., viii., 
62. The opt. is often only a softened future. Matth., 514, 2. Cf. 314, 
476. 

1109. ovres == irapovres, both present and absent. — x e P ^ f° r pi- X € P~ 
(Tip. — The sense : take axes in your hands and hurry to the elevated spot, 
spoken with a gesture toward the eminence where the body of Poly- 
nices lay. — eir6\piop, cf. 411 : &Kpcop £k irdycop', 1197: irediop e-ir* dupop. 



NOTES. 225 

Some critics are of opinion that several lines have been lost here, which 
described the place more particularly. Two reasons drawn from the 
nature of the case seem to invalidate this assumption : First, it would be 
unnatural for the imperious monarch, especially in his present confusion 
and anxiety, to give a minute description of the ground ; second, the hill 
was in the vicinity of Thebes, and doubtless well known to all, so that 
such description would be superfluous. The whole passage indicates the 
hurry of Creon, who is now seized with alarm, and issues his orders 
briefly and abruptly. 

1111. rfjS', used adverbially, this way. Cf. 722 : ravrr). 

1112. avros t tdrjo-a, etc. Boeckh considers this as spoken only in 
regard to Antigone : as I bound her myself] so I will in person unloose her. 
But the first part of the verse can hardly be taken literally, as his com- 
mands had been executed by his servants; comp. 931 f. It is perhaps 
better to regard the expression as metaphorical (comp. v. 40): as I my- 
self tied the knot, I will in person loose it. That is, I did the wrong, and 
will in person undo it. Benloew : quod peccavi corrigam. So in Philoct., 
1224 : Aixrcov bV i^fxaprov iv t£ 7rp\v xp6vw. — Creon means that he will 
repair the injustice which he had done to both Polynices and Antigone. 

1113 f. The reluctant admission of a general principle. — ado^ovra 
agrees with riva> the indefinite subject of reXuu. The sense : / am 
afraid it is best that one should spend his whole life in preserving the estab- 
lished laws. — vSijlovs, comp. 452 seqq. It means the established re- 
ligion. 

1115. The Chorus, having learned from Teiresias that the whole state 
was menaced with calamity in consequence of Creon's guilt, addresses a 
hymn of fervent adoration and prayer to Bacchus, the tutelar divinity of 
Thebes, beseeching him to come and rescue his favorite city from pollu- 
tion. From the sentiment and metre of the ode, it is believed that the 
singing was accompanied by an appropriate dance. A minute descrip- 
tion of the choral dances performed in the worship of Bacchus is given 
by C. 0. Muller in his edition of iEsch., Eumenides. 

1115. TIoXv&wfMe, god of many names, said in reference to the 
various titles by which he was invoked, and under which he was wor- 
shipped in different cities. The Scholiast : do Aiovvcre • ol fiev yap Banxov, 
ol 5e v Ia/cxoz/, ol Se Avaiov, ol Se Eviov, ol 8e Ai&vpafjL$ov kolXovo'iv. Hence 
Wunder says : " iroXvcayvfios idem valet atque multum celebralus, cultus, 
invocatus." — Ka^a. vvjxcpas ayaXpa, darling of the Cadmean ny?nph, i. e., 
of Semele, daughter of Cadmus, and beloved of Jupiter. Comp. Horn., 
Hymn., vi., 56 : . 

elfxl 8' eyoi Ai6vv<ro<; ept/3pojU.o?, oj> re/cs ju-^ttjp 



226 NOTES. 

1116. papyppepera, Dor. gen., altitonantis. 

1120. The Chorus magnifies the god, by the mention of the most cel- 
ebrated seats of his worship. — kKvtclv 'IraXiav. The southern part of 
Italy, anciently called Magna Graecia. It was very early colonized by 
the Greeks, by whom the culture of the grape, and the rites of Bacchus, 
were introduced. It has always been renowned (k\vt(ij/) for the beauty 
of its scenery and climate, the fertility of its soil, and the excellence of 
its wines. A legend cited by Hermann from Etymol. Mag., p. 525, says 
that Bacchus, at the close of his warlike expedition against the Tyrrhe- 
nians, left some of his veteran followers in Italy ; that these applied them- 
selves to the cultivation of the vine, and hence that country became dis- 
tinguished for its wines. 

Id. /xeSets cU — k6\itois. The relative construction is dropped, as 
above, v. 785. Render : thou also art lord in the vales of Eleusinian 
Ceres, common to all nations. In the Eleusinian mysteries, celebrated near 
Eleusis, a small town northwest of Athens, Bacchus, under the name of 
Iacchus, was honored conjointly with Deo (Demeter). For this name, 
cf. Horn., Hymn., iv., 492. — k6\ttols, is used to designate the cove-shaped 
valley, traversed by the Cephissus, and bordering on the Bay of Eleusis. 
The great religious festivals held here were participated in by Greeks 
and foreigners, hence the term irayKoivois. Cicero, de Nat. Deorum., i., 
42 : Eleusis, ubi initiantur gentes orarum ultimae. 

1122. Ba/cxeS, unusual form for Bct/cxe. — BaKx^u, Dor. gen. for Ba/c- 
X&v, According to Triclinius, Thebes is called the metropolis of the 
Bacchantes, because Bacchus was born there and originated them. 
Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 210 ff. 

1123. irap 3 vypwv Icr/x. pel&pccu, by the softly -gliding waters of Ismenus. 
— iraph. with gen., instead of dat., denoting proximity, cf. 966. H., xv., 5. 
Eurip., Phoeniss., 99 : irap 'la^vov poas. Thebes was built on both 
sides of this river. 

1125. 67ri o-iropx, etc., upon the seed-ground of the wild dragon, viz., 
where Cadmus sowed the dragon's teeth, from which the Thebans were 
said to have sprung. 

1126. Axtistrophe 1. — Continuation of the invocation, ere 5', instead 
of arv bv, thou whom the gleaming smoke beholds upon the double peak (of 
Parnassus). On the summit of this mountain, flames were seen at night, 
which many supposed to proceed from torches borne by Bacchus and his 
retinue of nymphs, who inhabited the Corycian cave. This popular be- 
lief is noticed by Euripides in Phoen., 233 ff. Ion, 728. The Scholiast 
partakes of the same superstition : avTOfiaTov irvp e/ceTcre avadlSorcu. But 
those lights are easily accounted for, by the fact that bacchanalian orgies 
(sacrifices) were actually performed there. 



notes. 227 

1128. (TtIxovctl = (TTelxo'J(Ti. Hesychius : fiafii&wTi, iropevovraL. 
Here it means march or dance in rows. 

1129. vafxa is generally considered the subject of tnru-ire. with Xiyvvs. 
The fountain of Castalia was also on Mount Parnassus. 

1130. Kai ere Nvcralcw opeW, etc., and the ivy-green heights of the Nys- 
ian mountains send thee — referring to Mount Xysa in Eubcea, where grew 
the wonderful vine "which every day blossomed in the morning, had 
green clusters at mid-day, and ripe grapes at night." Schol. Comp. 
Stephanus of Byzant. : ivha Sia ixias rjfjLepas tt\v 6./jLTre\6v (pacriv hft&eiv kolL 
rbu fiorpvv ireiraivecrSai. Eustathius, ad Dionys., 224., also mentions it : 
to rrjs auireXov repdcTTiov, fiorpvv eK<pepova"i]s Kc&rjftepiov. Also Soph., 
fragm. Thyest, 490. A similar vine grew on Mount Parnassus. Schol., 
ad. Phoen., 227. 

1134. TrefAirei, viz., to Thebes, which the god was supposed to visit on 
festal days. 

1135. afj-ppSrcov iweccu eva^ovTuv, gen. abs., when the sacred words re- 
sound, i. e., when the people, singing in procession, raise the consecrated 
shout: euo?, evtuJ The verb €ud£eiv, usually said of persons, is here by 
exception used in a neuter sense. Cf. Eurip., Bacch., 1035 : eua£o £ei/a 
/xeAect fiapfidpois. 

1136 f. QrifSaCas ayvids, the broad streets of TJiebes. Euripides also 
makes mention of the broad, smooth streets of the seven-gated city, Here, 
fur., 784 ; Bacch., 87. 

1137. tolu {noXiv), relating to the subst. implied in Qr}$aias. Bern- 
hardy, Gr. S., 294. TTunder and Schneidewin accept Dindorf 's emenda- 
tion : eKirayXa Tifias inrep iraffav Tr6\ecov, for the vulg. 4k vaffav tljxo.s inrep- 
rdrav ttoX^wv, The sense : which thou, with thy thunder struck mother 
(Semele), honor est far above all cities. 

1140. Kal vvv, now also, to be connected with fj.o\€?y. — &s — eVl v6crov, 
when our whole state is seized with a violent disease. — d^ia, Dor. for ifia. 

1142. noXeiv, infinitive for the imperative, as often in prayers. See 
Matth., 546. Post, Parallel-Gram., p. 446. — Kc&ap<r(tp irodl, with purify- 
ing (or expiatory) step, i. e., to cleanse the city from the fxiacixa under 
which it labors. Bacchus is here appealed to in his mystic, mediatorial 
character. See Eur., Bacch., 284 f. Comp. Herod., viii., 65. 

1145. irop&/j.6v, the straits between Eubcea and Boeotia, anciently 
called the Euripus, now Xegropont. 

1146. irvp irveovTuv x°P^7' acrrpew, leader of the fire-breathing stars. 
The mystic rites of Bacchus, at Eleusis, were performed at night in the 
open air. The company of the initiated (<hWos) marched or danced and 
sung in procession, bearing the thyrsus and blazing torches. At their 
head were borne the Bacchic emblems, accompanied by a brilliant lamp 



228 NOTES. 

burning with the mystical fire (cpuxrcpSpos ao-rrip, /xvcr-npiaKbp irvp, (pais 
<T€/jlj/ov irvpos), which symbolized the god himself. Hence the Scholiast 
to Aristoph., Ran., 343, says : rrjs reAzrrjs ov /jlSuou x°P* VT hs-> o.\\b. kcl\ 
e^apxos i\v 6 Aiowcros (Bacchus was not only a dancer, but the leader of 
the mystic rites). This representation was probably intended to signify 
the honors enjoyed by Bacchus in the skies. As in the rites his mystic 
fire led the flaming torches, so, to the lively fancy of his votaries, he, the 
son of Jupiter, appeared as the leader of the nightly chorus of stars in 
the celestial world. In Eurip., Bacch., 1078 seqq., his voice is heard in 
the sky, speaking words of encouragement to his followers ; and in Ion, 
1092, the starry heavens and the moon dance with joy at his appear- 
ance. 

1148. (pfreyndrcav, hymns and the accompanying sacred shouts, as 
above noticed at 1134. The Schol. : rcav eV vvkt\ ev(p7]/jLiwj/ ical vfxvoov. 

1149. 7ra?, said in allusion to his youthfulness. He was sometimes 
called Kovpos by the poets. See Welcker, ad Aristoph., Ran., 394. 
Comp. Eurip., Bacch., 581. 

1150. Najmis. He was worshipped as principal divinity on the island 
of Naxos. — (dviaicriv (Boeckh), instead of the vulg. (dvidciv. The retinue 
of Bacchus were, according to Strabo, x. : ^eiXrjvoi, ^drvpoi, Ba/cxou, 
A?]vai, ®v?cu — all creatures of the imagination, which his earthly followers 
sought to imitate in their grotesque masquerades. 

1152. x P e ^ ovcr h m an active signification, celebrate in dances. Eurip., 
Iph., a., 1064 : irevT^Kovra tcSpai N^pryos yd/xovs ixopevffav. — rafxiap (=■ 8e- 
(TiroTriv, dominum) lord lacchos. Comp., supra, 1120. The Iacchos of 
the Eleusinian mysteries was by some held to be the son of Jupiter and 
Persephone (Proserpine), and hence was honored by the initiated as the 
associate of the infernal divinities. Schol., ad Aristoph., Ran., 324. He 
is here, as frequently, identified with the Theban Bacchus. As in the 
commencement of this ode, the Chorus invokes him as an earthly god, so 
in the close it seems to appeal to him as the representative also of the 
powers below, which were worshipped by night. In this ode, Sophocles 
unites the creeds of the older and younger sect. See Introduction, 
Part I. 

1155. Construct: irdpoiKoi dSficov Kddfiov k. 'Kjupiovos. The Cadmeia, 
or Acropolis of Thebes, was founded by Cadmus ; the city around it was 
built and fortified by Amphion and Zethus, sons of Jupiter and Antiope. 
Cf. Horn., Odyss., xi., 263, with Mtsch's note, vol. hi., p. 234. — irdpoiKoi, 
etc., signifies the citizens of Thebes, as in (Ed. Tyr., 1 : ^n reKj/a, Ka5- 
fxov rod iraXai via rpocprj. 

1156 f. ovk ecrS 1 6tto7ov, etc. The sense is : it is not possible I can ever 
either praise or condemn any life of man, whatsoever its condition^ that is, 



NOTES. 229 

there is no state of life such as I can ever call happy or unhappy. — crrdvr 
denotes the present position of the fiios. — ovk ecti has here the same ad- 
verbial nature that it has in the common expression, ovk iariv onus, cf. 
329. Matth., 483, n. 2. Host's Parallel-Gr., p. 467, n. 5. The nega- 
tives, ovt, ovre, strengthen the preceding ovk. This messenger is a 
a commonplace fellow, who has no idea of great actions in which one 
may be unfortunate. Every thing is estimated by the pleasure it affords. 
For the thought, conip. (Ed. Tyr., 1195 : fiporcci/ ovdlv fxaKapifa. 

1158. For Fortune is always setting up the unfortunate, and putting 
down the fortunate. — Karappeirei is here a causative, and equivalent to 
avarpiirei, as the opposite of bphol. The objects of the two verbs are 
placed in an inverted order. This vulgar apprehension of the power of 
rvxv i n human affairs corresponds to Cebes' description of the blind 
goddess standing upon a round stone, Ceb., Tab., §§ 30, 31 : roiavrriv 
e%€i (pvcriv 7] Tux 7 ?? &<TT€, h deS&Kev, a<£eAecrdcu, KaX Ta%eo?s iraXiv dovvai 
iroXXairXao-'ia, avSis Se a<peXeo~&a.L a SedooKev. Our drama teaches, how- 
ever, that Creon s calamities are the consequences of his own guilt and 
folly. 

1160. t&v Ka^reardoTcoy, of whit is ordained to mortals, fixed by fate = 
TreTTpoQ/jLevoov. Cf. 1337. 

1161. &s ifiol, understand idoKei, meo quidem animo. Matin., 387, a. 
Ajax, .395. In the following he gives the reasons why he had considered 
Creon enviable. — crucras == eXevdepucras with the gen., see Bernhardy, Gr. 
Syntax, p. 181. — ttotL This and some other passages remind us that 
events embracing a considerable space of time are compressed in this 
play. 

1163. Xafic&v = TrapaXafi'xv. Creon had succeeded to the throne by 
inheritance, supra, 173 f. The particle t€ does not properly answer to 
the preceding fxkv, but is an anacoluthon. 

1164. ei>'dwe, supply avri]v, cf. 178 : Travav ebSvucav itSXlp. — SraXXav — 
o"rropa, Brunck : florcns generosa liberorum prole, referring to Haemon and 
Megareus ; the latter had nobly sacrificed himself in the recent war. 
Creon was fortunate in his children as well as in his public affairs. 

1165. afyslrai iravra, a figure drawn from dice: and now all has been 
lost at a throw. Boeckh. He means that it was the mere work of chance, 
alluding to what he had said before, 1158. Comp. 328. 

1166 f. 7rpo5&J(7iy, Schol. : airoXio-ojcriv. — ri^rrj/i, in the sense of fjyovfiai 
or Xoyi(oijiai. — tovtov, such a man, as if hs c.v irpodcv had preceded. The 
pronoun is used in a collective sense. 

1167. irXovrei — /ueya, for, have vast riches, if you will, in your house , 
be as rich as you please. — ko.t oIkov, where treasures are hoarded up. 

1169. And live in princely style.-^ri, imper. for (rjdi. — cxwa denotes 



230 NOTES. 

merely the external show, pompum, fastum. Erfurdt. For ix u3V ) m tne 
sense of a preposition denoting manner, see Kuhner's Gr., 312, e. 

1170. Constr. : iav 5e to xcupej*/ ^V tovtqqv, tamen si absit his gaudi- 
um. Brunck. For the gen. dep. en ctan), see Host, Gr., p. 418. — to x«t- 
otiv = at rjSoval, 1165. — entices, gen. of price. Fumi umbra nihil vilius 
esse potest. Br. Comp. Philo.ct., 946 : veKpov t) kolttvov vkiolv, eXScoXov 
aWoos, mortuum aut fumi umbram, vanam imaginem. In like manner 
Homer (Odyss., xi., 208) likens the dead in Hades to a shadow : cr/crf) ei/ce- 
\ov v) Kal bveipw. 

11 71. ovk Uv irpiaip.y\v ai/dpl, I would not buy of a man. The poets 
put the person from whom any thing is purchased in the dative, instead 
of the gen. with irapd. Comp. Aristoph., Acharn., 812. The expression 
Trpiacr&ai ri tlvl is analogous to 5exe(r3-cu rl tlvl. — irpos rrju rjdovfiv, in re- 
spect of pleasure, for the satisfaction they can give. Matth., 591, y. irpSs 
is generally understood as denoting a comparison in this passage ; it 
denotes rather the intent or object of such a purchase. He means, when 
the joy of life has departed, all the splendors of wealth are perfectly vain 
and valueless — unable to confer any gratification. 

1172. jSao-tXewj/, instead of the sing. $a<ri\£ws. Boeckh and Schnei- 
dewin think it refers to the whole royal family, but the messenger has 
spoken only of Creon's misfortunes. In the following verse, also, the 
plural is put for the singular. — rpepcav, reporting, announcing. Similarly, 
(Ed. Tyr., 86. It is here = ayyeWcaj/. The adv. au has the force of an 
adjective : what new calamity of the king do you come to announce? 

1174. r(s cpovevei, etc., who is the murderer, and who the murdered? 
for, from the words cutiol (rod) &ave?v, causa mortis, the Chorus infers that 
an act of violence has been committed. 

1175 f. avr6x^p was applied, not only to the self-murderer, but also 
to one who committed or suffered violence by the hand of a relative. 
Brunck : suofum manu. Comp. 172. Xen., Hellen., vi., 4, 35. This 
ambiguity occasions the inquiry of the Chorus. — wpbs belongs equally to 
both members of the sentence. 

1177. irarpl finvicras Qovov. These words assign the reason of Hse- 
mon's act: being mad at his father for the murder (of Antigone). The 
construction of verbs signifying to be angry, with a gen. denoting the 
cause of the anger, is poetical. Host, Par.-Gr., p. 424. More general, 
Matth., 367, 2. 

1178. roviros — r\vv<ras, how true a prediction didst thou make, referring 
to 1066. Sophocles elsewhere ((Ed. Tyr., 720 ; (Ed. Col., 524) uses this 
verb to express the fulfilment of a prediction by a divinity. But Teire- 
sias was regarded as more than a common mortal; by reason of his won- 
derful prescience, he was venerated as a god among men. An oracle of 



NOTES. 231 

him is known to have existed in Boeotia. See Nitsch, ad Odvss., x. 
492-5. Hence Homer distinguishes his spirit (tyvxh) above all the other 
dead in Hades. Our poet, therefore, may have used the word jji/vcas in 
its ordinary signification of accomplish, in conformity with the ancient 
popular belief in the blind seer's supernatural power. 

1 179. cos £§' ixovrccu, supply tovtccv. Comp. Ajax, 904: &s wSe 
rov& ix ovros aid^eiv irdpa. — -irdpa = irdpecm, it is expedient. 

1180. The Chorus announces the entrance of Eurydice, who, con- 
cealed by the partially-opened door, had heard the melancholy news. 
The announcement is made in iambic measure, instead of the customary 
anapests. — Hesiod (Scut. Here, 83) calls Creon's wife 'Hj/tcfx??, Henioche ; 
instead of which name Sophocles has chosen one of like signification : 
EvpvdtKT}, i. e., queen, as Kpecav (Kpeiav), king. Schneidewin. — dixov =■ 
iyyvs. Schol. 

1182. Kkvov&a Trdidbs, hearing of her son, i. e., of his death. Comp, 
1247. (Ed. Col., 307 : kXvcm crov. — irdpa (7ra/?€(JTi) here implies motion, 
as frequently, hence = irapr}K€i, cf. Ajax, 742. 

1183. rwv, for tivoov. I caught some words in coming to the door. 
Some understand the sentence as a question, but the indefinite, not the 
interrogative, pronoun is required. The queen has but indistinctly heard 
the tidings, for which reason she now desires to have them repeated. 

1184. UaWados 3-eas. Matthiae, Gr., 366, 1, explains this as an ob- 
jective gen. depending on evy^drcci/ : Gebet an die Pallas, But evy/mdrcay 
Trposyyopos are so connected as to form one idea, a petitioner, and thus 
together govern UaWdBos. In the court of the palace were several altars 
where the royal family performed their devotions ((Ed. Tyr., 16), among 
which was probably one of Pallas. There were also in the city two tem- 
ples erected to this goddess (0. T., 20) for the use of the populace. On 
the supposition that the queen meant one of these, we may govern the 
gen. UaWddos by vaov understood. 

1186. Kai rvyxdveo, etc., and I was just loosening the fastenings of the 
outward opening door when a report, etc. — tc — Kai serve to connect two 
simultaneous events, cf. Xen. Anab., i., 8, 1 ; iv., 6, 2. Rost, Par.-Gr., p. 
452. — apacriracrov is descriptive of the movement of the door in conse- 
quence of drawing the bolts. Among the ancient Greeks the doors of 
houses opened outward ; hence avavirav, to open in going out, appears to 
be the opposite of hrtffirav, to pull to in entering, as in Xen., Hellen., vi., 
4, 36 : iTricnrdcra tijv &vpav. 

1191. KaKoiv aireipos, referring to the death of her other son, Mega- 
reus, 995, note. Eor this gen. see Matth., 343. 

1192. irapcbv, as an eye-witness. Boeckh. 

1194. ri ydp ere paA&dtrcr. The sense is : for why should I soothe you 



232 NOTES. 

(allay your fears) by a smooth story wherein I shall afterward be found a 
liar ? Comp. (Ed. Col., '774. — &v, in respect to what. See Matth., § 337. 
The change of number as in 1092 f. 

1199. kclI tov, masc. for neuter; it refers properly to cw/jLa. The re- 
mains of Polynices are now buried with all due formality. Propitiatory 
prayers are offered, the body is purified in a consecrated bath, and burnt, 
and then deposited in the earth. — £i/ot>lav 3-ebv. The Scholiast : rrji/ 'Ekol- 
ttju % tt)v Uep€re<p6ur)u. Hecate, the goddess who presided over atoning 
and purifying rites, is called evodia (iu 655) because her statues w r ere 
placed by the way-side. For a like reason this epithet is applied to Pros- 
erpine (Eurip., Ion, 1062 : elvodla frvyarep Aa/maTpos), with whom, as well 
as with Artemis (Eurip., Phoen., 108), Hecate is sometimes confounded 
in the ancient legends. K. F. Hermann, Relig. Antiq. Gr., § 15, and in 
general § 23. Est nempe Luna in coelo, Diana in terris, Proserpina in 
inferis, Desprez, ad Hor., Sat., i., 8, 33. 

1200. dpyas evfieueTs Karacrx&zlv, graciously to restrain their anger. 
They seek to appease the infernal divinities, who are deeply incensed 
because the body has so long been left unburied in the open field, and 
withheld from them. 1070-4.— ev/xev€?s, pi., agreeing with &ebv UXovrcoud 
r, and used adverbially. So Xen., Cyrop., ii., 1, 1 : tXews kql\ evpcveTs 
7re/jLW€Lj/ a-cpas. Matth., 446, 6. 

1201. ayvhv Kovrplv, cognate ace. Matth., 421, 2. Cf. 1046. Such 
constructions were sometimes imitated by our Bible translators, e. g., 
Ezek., xxix., 18 : serve a service. — iv veoffirdcrLV &a\Ao?s, with freshly- 
plucked twigs. Olive-branches are believed to have been especially used 
in the burning of dead bodies. — iu is redundant, cf. 459. 

1202. h §7) AeAeiTTTo, what had been left, sc, by dogs and birds. 

1203. olice'ias x^oybs, of native earth. 

1204. X&SffTpwTov is usually said of pavement, here = irerpddei, 774. 
Render : we then penetrated to the maiderfs rock-vaulted bride-chamber of 
death, where Antigone was to be married to Hades. Comp. 654, 804, 
816. — Such poetical expressions are frequently used of the young, es- 
pecially of the betrothed prematurely cut off. The comp. verb elsefialvo- 
/j.€v seems to describe the passage, through the thickets and other obstruc- 
tions, to the unfrequented spot, cf. 773. 

1207. afji(p\, in the vicinity of vaguely denotes the direction from 
which the cry proceeded. — aKrepicrov iracrrd^a, the unconsecrated chamber, 
because she who was there immured had not received the customary 
burial honors (/crept'cr^aTa), cf. 1071. The Schol. : rhv jultj SsldjAtvov ena- 
<pia. Hermann : irao-rdSa dixit, vvjji<p€?oy "Aidov respiciens, qui thalamus 
quoniam sepulcri instar erat, aKTepKrrov vocat. 

1209. a&xlas &<rr)fAa fiorjs = a<ryfj.os afrAia j8ot?. Matth., 442, 3. Comp. 



notes. 233 

1265: &vo\fta {3ov\€v/j.dTcav. — irepifiaivei, reaches, meets] lit., comes round 
him, since sound borne on the air envelops the hearer. Homer, Od., vi., 
122, has afupepxercu of sound in the same way. The construction with 
the dative comes under the principle illustrated by Matthiae, Gr., § 401, 
c. d. 

1210. ixaWov affcrov, rather nearer. p.a\Kov is frequently used to 
strengthen another comparative, Matth., 458. Kiihner, 239, 1. In this 
passage it does not materially modify the sense of a<r<ro;/. Doederlein 
makes it qualify the verb wepiflalvei. 

1212. dvsrvx^crdrriu = a strengthened comparative, as in 101 : am I 
treading a path far more unfortunate than the roads travelled before? that 
is, the most unfortunate that I have ever travelled. He means, if his ap- 
prehensions concerning Hasmon are realized, it will be the greatest afflic- 
tion of his whole life. Comp. Horn., H., i., 505 : ajKufiopd^raros &\\oov. 
Compare this idiomatic superlative with v. 100, note. Concerning the 
thought, Ajax, 994 : ofibs obuu ttcwoju ayidcracra Bt] ixaXiara tovjjlov o"ir\dy- 

X vov - 

1214. calve i, leniter tangit. Neu. 

1215. A fine touch of nature. Creon is too much overcome by his 
fears to hasten forward himself, but first sends his attendants to ascer- 
tain the reality. 

1216. apfibv x<* > / J - aT0S h&ooriradrj Svvres, on getting into the stone-drawn 
cleft of the tomb. Creon has a suspicion that Haemon has affected an 
entrance into the vault ; if, as was usual with Oriental tombs, the mouth 
was closed by a large stone which it required the strength of several men 
to remove (see Bloomfield on Matth., xxvii., 60), he could have entered 
only by pulling out some stones from the wall adjoining it. Creon's 
words authorize this assumption, and the ancient commentator so under- 
stood them : M&ocnradrj • ws \i&ov aTro<nra<j&£vTos i ottccs elseAfrn 6 A r Lfiwv. 
Hermann : Xam qui ad Antigonam pervenisset Hgemon, nisi evulsis lapi- 
dibus, quibus obstructus erat speluncae aditus ? citing Erfurdt's explana- 
tion : ap/xbs Xi&ocnradris, est rima evulsis saxis facta. 

1218. KXeTTTOfxai, am deceived. Comp. 681. 

1219. e£, redundant, as in 95 and 150. — K€\€vo-jj.aaiv, according to the 
commands, the dative denoting the mediate cause, and at the same time 
the measure of their proceedings. Bernhardt, Gr. Syni, p. 101. It con- 
veys the idea of obedience in a twofold sense — because the master had 
commanded, and as he had commanded. Comp. Pind., Isthm., vii., 22 : 
kXov 5 s 'AfAVKAas — jiavrevixacn Tlv&iois. 

1221. Kpefiao-rrju avx&os, smpended by the neck. For this gen. denot- 
ing a part, see Matth., 330. Cf. Aristoph., Plut., 312 : twv opx^^v /cpeyUcD- 
ixtv; and, for the thought, (Ed. T., 1263, where it is said of Antigone's 



234 NOTES. 

mother, Jocaste : Kpefjcatrrriv tt]v yvvaiK io-eitiofAev, itXcktcus idpais efwre- 
TrXey/j.svr}}'. 

1222. $p6x& fjuradei, etc., attached with a thread cord of fine linen. 
Hermann : quod est /SpAx? zk fiircav (riv^6vos (with a cord made of the 
threads of linen). — Ka^i]fx[xivr]v (/ca&a7TTco). The Schol. : rbv rpdxv^ou 
dede/j-fieyr]!/. The messenger leaves it to be inferred that Antigone had 
hung herself with a cord which she had manufactured from her own 
clothing. 

1223. tov 5' afjLcpl [xiaan. The idea is : and Hamion leaning upon her 
and clasping her waist. — irposKei^vov may merely mean pressing closely, 
while he maintained a nearly upright position, not kneeling, as Hartung, 
without reason, interprets. 4 

1224 f. evvris airoifjidofyvTa, etc., loudly bewailing the destruction of his 
beloved there below, and his father's misdeeds, and his unfortunate nuptiah. 
Comp. 575 : "Ai57?s 6 iravcreap rovsde robs yd t uovs %(pv. — evi/j) and Ae%os are 
both used by metonymy for the person by the poets, and it is difficult to 
decide how they are to be distinguished in this passage, <pfropd is, how- 
ever, more commonly said of persons than of things, and may serve as a 
guide to the correct interpretation. For Ae^os, in its more literal sense, 
compare, supra, 573. It seems here to refer to his union with Antigone 
in the grave. Comp. 1240. 

1226. 6 5', sc, Creon, who now enters the vault. — ccpe, Hgemon. 

1229. iv ry> £vfj.(f)opas = iv tlvl ^vfupopa. The sense : by what misfor- 
tune have you been ruined? i. e., deprived of reason. — t$ as neut. of rls, 
Matth., 442, 2. 

1232. TTTvcras irposc&ircp, expressing disgust in his looks, by means of dis- 
torted features. Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., 101, renders : in der Miene seinen 
Abscheu ausdruckend. The Scholiast : e/c rod irposwirov KaTaiie^d^vos. — 
irposdoira), dat. means and manner. 

1233. eXuei SnrA. Kv&hovras, etc., may be rendered : he draws his cross- 
hilted sicord. — kv&Sovtss was the name given to the tooth-like projections 
on each side of a straight sword {^i<pos) separating the handle from the 
blade. Xenophon recommends that the kp&Soi/tcs of the hunting-spear 
be placed midway of the metal socket in which the blade is inserted, De 
Yenat., x., 3. The £(<pos was double-edged. Schol. — e/c is to be rejoined 
to dpfx(ofx&ov, which is a gen. abs. with irarphs, patre autem fuga elabenle 
aberravit ictu. Brunck. 

1234. ? f\iMt\o.K! (avrou), cf. 554. He failed, missed him. This act of 
Hsemon is intended to show to what a degree his father's conduct had 
exasperated him. The Scholiast observes that " he did not draw the 
sword against his father, though he appeared so to the messenger." 
However that may be, he does not attempt a second blow, but turns the 



NOTES. 235 

weapon against himself, to avoid being torn from the side of her whose 
fate he was resolved to share. Comp. 751. 

1235. &s7T€p e?xe. The sense is: just where he stood. Comp. 1108. — 
i7T€VTa$els, sc. |i<pet, in ensem protentus. Erf. In the same manner Ajax 
dies (Aj., 899), by falhng on the point of his sword. 

1236. is 5' vypov ayKwy, etc. The prep, is implies motion, though 
joined with a verb expressing rest, when it is apparently used for ev. 
Matth., 596. Herin., Vig., p. 592. See examples of this pregnant usage 
in Liddell and Scott's Lex. The sense: and within his languid arm, still 
conscious, he e 7 e>sps the maiden ; that is. having taken her in his arms, he 
clings to her. — vypbv, weak, yielding like water. Plants which twine 
around objects are termed vypol. So in Plat.. Sympos., § IS. Eros is 
vypbs to zTSos ' ov yap av olos r f\v rdjrrn Tcepi-TVG~o~eo~bai ; with this latter 
verb TTposTTTvacreo'bai with the dat. may be aptly compared. Concerning 
the whole passage, comp. Propertius, ii., S. 21 : Quid *? non Antigonae 
tumulo Boeotius Haeinon corruit ipse suo saucius ense latus "? Et sua 
cum miserae commiscuit ossa puellae, qua sine Thebanam noluit ire 
domum. 

1238 f. Constr. : koll tpvo'twy £jcj3aAA.€i 6^7au ttj/otjv (pou/iov araXdyuaros 
XevKTJi irap€L$,, and breathing heavily, he spurts a bright stream of purple 
blood upon Iter pallid cheek. Schol. : o eVr:, tufia i^ervevo'e. The last 
moments of Agamemnon (JEsch.. Ag.. 1389) are similarly described : 

fiaAAei ,a' ipetxi'fj -^(xk.6.Si (pou-Cas £po<70V. 

12-40. Kelrai 5e vehcpos, etc., and now he lies a corpse embracing a corpse. 
The body of Antigone is taken down, and the two laid out, Haemon with 
his arm around his lifeless bride. This suggests the following : ra vvix- 
(pLKa re\rj Xax^p, etc., the wretched man having obtained the solemn nuptial, 
rites in the house of death ; since she has become his crvvewos, and the 
marriage is thus consummated. — elv — iv. — wucpiKci re\r} means properly 
the initiatory ceremonies of wedlock. Pollux : reXos 6 yduos €Ka\e7ro. 
JEsch., Eumen.. 835 : yawnXiov reXous (pro nuptiis consummates i. 

12-12 f. A general reflection intimating that this sad catastrophe is 
the result of Creon's iniquitous and short-sighted policy. It is another 
expression of the moral lesson which this drama is intended to illustrate. 
Comp. 684, 1050 f., 1265, 1347. — t))v afiovXiav is only the apparent object 
of deltas ; the real object is the whole thought conveyed in the sentence. 
The idea is: showing an example to the world that foolish counsel is the 
greatest evil to man. Such constructions are not uncommon, ef. (Ed. Col., 
1197 : yv&HFti bvuov reXevr^u &s Kaxij vposyiyverai. Demos., Phil., iii.. 5 
61 : tov Evtypaiov, oia eTrad-e, fj.euv7ju.evoi. — wposKeiTat = irpQseo~Ti, cf. 1252, 



236 NOTES. 

While the last words are spoken, the queen hurriedly leaves the 
stage. 

1245. cppovBr], cf. v. 15, gone again. 

1246. iXiricriu fiSo-KOfxai = iXirifa. Comp. 897: eV £Xtt'io~iv rpicpca. 

1247. y6ovs, understand Uvai, as above, 1211 : 'itjo-l tiros hvsbp7]vr\rou. 
The passage may be illustrated by Ajax, 850 f. : ri\v$ orav KXvy (pdriv 
ijaei fxeyav koqkvtov eV irdcrri irSXei. Some supply, from the following, 
(Trivtiv, which is not suited to this object. He hopes the queen will not 
so far violate propriety as to make her lamentations heard through the 
city. What propriety required under such circumstances is stated in the 
second member. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 1430 f. 

1249. TTpo&r}(reiv, to lay upon, charge, with dat. and infin., as in verse 
216, Comp. the prediction of Teiresias, 1079. 

1250. yj/do/jLTjs air€ipos, destitute of understanding. — a/xaprdueiv, offend 
against propriety. The Schol. explains correctly : ovk avSrjros, (p-naiv, 
vTrdpXGi, &sre Srifxoo-ia bfivpecrfrai • afxaprdveiu 5e Xeyei vvv to i/jupavcas &pr)- 
vClv. The particle yap plainly refers to the preceding wish. Triclinius 
considers it to signify the doing some harm to herself, and this view is 
indorsed by Wunder without assigning a reason. But, apart from its in- 
timate connection with the preceding, which of the tragic writers, who, 
however, were moral teachers, condemns self-destruction as a sinful act ? 

1251. 5' ovv. Comp. 890. The sense : to me, at least, too great silence 
seems to be as ominous as too much outcry. — re — kcu, not only — but also ; as 
well — as ; Germ., eben so — wie (Kiihner, Gr., 321), particles which put two 
things upon an equal footing. — irposzivai fiapv conveys an apprehension 
of evil consequences. Cf. 767. In respect to the thought, comp. (Ed. 
Tyr., 1074 f. : dedoix oircos fx)) */c tyjs (nonr/}s rrjsff avapprj^ei /ca/ca (metuo 
ne ex hoc silentio eruptura sint mala). 

1253, Connect €lcr6/j.ecr&a with Trapacrrelxovres do/j.ovs. — /jlt] implies 
doubt and fear. See Herm. ad Tiger, 787. Woolsey: "more exactly it 
answers to whether — not. 11 Kender: ice shall find out whether she is not 
perhaps concealing some hidden purpose in her incensed heart, viz., incensed 
against her husband, Creon. Cf. Horn., II., xxiv., 584: axw^vy Kpadin. 

1256. fidpos, danger, used in a sense similar to fiapv above. 

1258. iav?][x iirior^fjLov. meaning his son's corpse, which is a clear evi- 
dence of what has occurred. — diet. x €L P°s ^X 0iV ^ manu tenens. Yig., 584. 
Comp. 1279, 1297. The Schol. : fivrj/ua • rbv vtKpov. 

1259 f. aXXorpiav arr\v, in apposition with /jLj/Tj/jLa. It might be ex- 
pressed more simply : /jLvrj^a ovk aXXorptas arris, aXXa rrjs avrov ajxaprlas. 
As it stands it means, not another 1 s retribution, but (his own) because he 
has sinned, 

1261. Here begin the so-called ko^oI (laments), consisting of re- 



notes. 237 

sponses between the Chorus and the actors. The king and his attend- 
ants, bearing the body of Harmon, advance to the middle of the stage, 
where they lay it down. Creon remains by it in an attitude of dejec- 
tion. 'Iw tppsvcov Bvstppovtov, etc., alas, the obstinate, fatal errors of a 
senseless mind! For the expression eppives dvseppoves, cf. 508, 1276. 
(Ed. Tyr., 1214: cxya\xov yduov. He calls his wickedness areped, because 
proceeding from stubbornness of heart. — SavaroevT. Schol. : Savdrov 
atria. 

1263. di — fi\€7roi>Tes is addressed to the Chorus. — i t ucpv\iovs = iyye- 
ve?s, of the same family. The expressions of grief are incoherent. 

1265. ificcv &vo\fia, etc., as if it were written ifia ixvoXfia fiovXevfidra. 
Comp. 1209. Brunck : heu infausta consilia, mea ! 

1266. vios vice fpv fiSpcp, in youth by a premature death. The pleonasm 
heightens the force, as above, 977. 

1268. aire\v&r)s, you have been released. " The Greek writers, from 
Homer down, 1 ' says Eustathius, "used \vbrivai for &a.ve?v, as Sophocles 
evidently does in the passage e&aves, aireXvSris, and (v. 1314) iroico aTre\v- 
craro rpSwtp" Also, Plutarch says, in a fragment : rbv bdvarov wk6Xwtiv 
kclXovctl, thereby signifying the release of the soul from the body — dis- 
solution. 

1270. ofyi' for oijxoi. — cos, like the French que, qualifies the whole ex- 
clamation, which is not intended as a reproach to the king, but as an ex- 
pression of regret that he had not sooner seen his error. The sense : pity 
that you seem to recognize justice too late ! Cf. a similar construction, Ajax, 
354 : OXfx cos eoinas bp&a fiaprvpelu cxycxv. Supra, 320. — 6\pe, too late to 
escape the divine judgments. So in Eurip., Bacch., 1345 : oif? e/md-ed-' 
TjfjLus * ore 5' ixpv v i °v K fj^ere, 

1271. Creon repeats oijioi because he admits that the Chorus is in the 
right : alas ! I have learned it to my sorrow. 

1273. He attributes his delusion and the consequent affliction to the 
malign influence of some demon, who had struck him on the head and 
bereft him of reason. — r6re, viz., when, deaf to all remonstrance, he de- 
creed the execution of Antigone. — /xeya fidpos ex coy, with greed force, or 
violence. 

1274. ivetreitrev (fie) ay plais 6do7s, and 'impelled me into wild paths ; or, 
as Musgrave interprets : imtigavit ad saeva consilia vel saevas actiones 
There is much force in the figure of a divinity inflicting a blow which 
biasses the judgment of a man and drives him from the path of rectitude 
into one of injustice and cruelty. Thus, in Creon s case, is verified the 
adage cited above, 622*fT. 

1275. KaKirdrTjTov. Tar. lect. : \a^7rdrriTov, \€co7rdT7]rov. It signifies 
wantonly stamped and crushed with the heel, and poetically anticipates 



238 NOTES. 

the condition of xctpd a ^ ter tne moment denoted by avTpeircov. The idea 
is : overturning and trampling under foot the joy of my life. A similar 
use of the verbal has been noticed above, 1186 : avacnracrTov ttvXtjs. 

1278. The i^dyyeXos, who comes from the palace where he has wit- 
nessed the suicide of Eurydice, breaks the news to Creon. The order 
is : & 8e(T7rora, (pepoov ra fxev (/ca/ca) rd$e irph %6£p£oy, us ^x (j0V T6 Kt & Ke ~ 
KT-nfiEvos, toifcas %K€ip Kal rd^ u^ec^ai ra 5e Kaxa ip SSjjlois ; master, 
while bringing this affliction here (Haemon's corpse) in your hands, as the 
rightful holder and possessor of it, you appear to have come immediately to 
see another in your house. — %x°* v Kc & x^KT7]}xipos can only refer to Heemon's 
death, of which he was the cause (1268), and which Teiresias had pre- 
dicted, 1066. Concerning the expression, comp. Plat., Kep., ii., p. 382 : 
rfj tyvxy — %X €LJ/ T€ K °ti xeKrrja^ai to \pevdos. — Kal rdxa is very soon, like 
the phrases Kal irdw, Kal fiaXa, etc. The inf. uxpeoftai is used instead of 
the usual construction b^6}X€pos. 

1281. rl §' i(TTiv au Kaxiop, -/) Kaxcop ere; So this verse reads in the 
MSS., except the point after k&xiov, inserted by Boeckh, who interprets : 
was gibfs noch Schlimmres, oder was noch vom Uebel ware (what is there 
again worse, or what of evil more) ? If Sophocles really wrote Kaxiov, he 
probably used it for the positive KaKop, or poetically for Kaxta, misfortune. 
For, as the messenger has simply announced another affliction, Creon has 
no reason to infer a worse one. Besides, the comp. adjective is logically 
inconsistent with the particle av. We have noticed above, 100, 1212, the 
superlative used for the comparative, and we may assume a similar free- 
dom here. With Kax&p supply ri from the preceding. The sense : what 
evil is there again, or what of evil more ? Wunder : aut quid malorum 
reliquum est ? 

1282 f. Eurydice is termed irajxyi^Toypy the all-devoted mother, because 
her life was bound up in that of her sons, the last of whom she could not 
survive. Haemon's death has made her cup of grief run over. Comp. 
1303 f. — apri to be connected with Ted-j^/cc, is just dead. 

1284, Icb dvsxd&apTos "Aid. Xi t wf)p, unappeasable gulf of Hades! 
Creon is now made to feel the anger of that divinity which he before 
scoffed at and provoked (780), and whose Erinnyes (1075) have over- 
taken him. — f/ Ai5ou Xi/x^p, Orel portus. The grave is represented as a 
harbor where the dead find rest when the voyage of life is ended. Comp. 
Eurip., Here, furens, 772: Xifiem Xnr&p ye top 'Axep6priop; explained, 
810: TLXovtupos 5o> ; ua Xiirkp peprepoy. In a like bold figure, Milton, Par. 
L., x., says : 

11 Till sin, and death, and yawning grave, at last, 
Through chaos hurled, obstruct the mouth of hell 
Forever, and seal up his ravenous jaws. 11 



NOTES. 239 

1285. oXetceis, why, oh why, dost thou crush me ? 

1286 f. Addressed to the i£dyye\os. — irpoiriix-tyas KaKayyeXra &X 7 !) 
bringer of painful tidings. 

1288. oAcoAor 5 eTre^eipydcro, the slain man you have slain over again. 
Comp. 1029 f. : oAcoAora k£vt<zl — &olvovt' It:ikto.vCi.v. 

1289 f. Constr. : riva viov crcpdyiov fiSpov, alai yvvaiKelov Aeyets fioi 
a,fjL<piK6?(T&ai e7r' 6\€&pcp ; The sense : what new bloody death, alas / that of 
my wife, do you tell me is superadded to the destruction (of my son) ? — The 
Schol. : e7r* oAed-py rod AHijlovos. — x/j.cpiKs'icrxrai, accedere, afx(pt in comp. ex- 
pressing addition or renewal. 

1293. ob yap iv fivxdls en, for she is no longer within her chamber. 
This means that the interior of the room, in which Eurydice killed her- 
self, is laid open to view, and the body rolled forward npon "a movable 
floor (iKKVKX-nfjLa) to the stage. " Thus there is presented before the 
eyes of the spectators a plastic group, Creon appearing on the stage be- 
tween the two corpses which he had sacrificed." Schneidewin. 

1295 f. Kouibv toS* &\\o, etc. Comp. 1279. The particle apa, as 
above, 1285, gives the question a pathetic force : what, oh what fate yet 
awaits me? 

1299. veKpSv, sc. rrjs yvvaiftSs. 

1301. o^v&vktos. The Scholiast explains : b^eiav Xafiovca irX7]yi]v. 
Likewise Boeckh : sharply pierced, viz., with a dagger. Hartung emends 
b£vir\y)KTos. — fico/jita irepi^ describes Eurydice's position as she fell, at the 
altar, with an arm thrown around it, and as she still appears before the 
spectators. Wunder understands 7?§€ in the sense of w5e, so. The Scho- 
liast likens her to a victim sunk down by the altar where it was sacri- 
ficed. 

1302. \v€i KeXawa fi\4<papa, she relaxes her dark eyelids, that is, en- 
veloped in the darkness of death. Cf. (Ed. Col., 1684. — \vei means 
operas,* the. eyes 'do not naturally close, but relax or open in death. 

1303. Mtyapeccs. See note on 995. — Bothe's emendation, Xa%os, fate, 
end, instead of the vulg. \exos, has been generally approved. The epi- 
thet KXeivov expresses the sentiment of the speaker, not of the bereaved 
mother. 

1304 f. kclkcls irpd^is means here ill-luck, res adversas, analogous to 
the expression kolk&s Trpdrreiv. Cf. Ajax, 759 : dusTrpa^ias. — etyvuvrjcratfa 
is explained by the Schol. : Karapa^a^ivr]. Comp. (Ed. Tyr., 1275 : roi- 
avr 3 ecpvjjivoov. iEsch., Eumen., 902. The sense is : imprecating ill-luck 
upon you (whom she calls) the murderer of her children. Curses uttered 
by persons in their last moments were believed to have prophetic power. 
Schneidewin, ad Ajax, 842. The curse (apa), which was originally a 
prayer, always conveyed the idea of an appeal to the powers of mischief 



240 NOTES. 

or destruction, generally the infernal Erinnyes, who were regarded as the 
executors of the wished-for evil. In fact, these daughters of Night bore 
the name of apai, curses, imprecations, in the nether world. Comp. JEsch., 
Eunien., 417 : 'Apal 5' ev oikois yr\s inral KeK\-fjy.e^a. See K. F. Hermann's 
Relig. Antiq., § 22. Nitsch, ad Odyss., vol. iii., p. 183, seqq., and Id., 
i., 205. 

1307. aveirrav (avaTreTO/JLai), Dor. for aveirT7)v, 2d aor. as present. / 
quake with dread. Similarly, (Ed. Col., 1466 : eirrrj^a ^v[x6u (expavesco 
animo). With an opposite meaning, Ajax, 693 : irepix^p^ apeirrafMau 
(exult). Apol., Rhod., iii., 724 : aueirraTo x^-P^ti 3-v/A<fe. (Ed. Tyr., 487. 

1308. avraiav (irXTjynj/), ace. of kindred signfication, Matth., 421, n. 2. 
It may be rendered : why does not somebody stab me through the breast with 
a two-edged sword ? Comp. Elect., 1416: ircu&ov, el ofteveis, dnrXrjv. The 
question is equivalent to an entreaty. For the present sense of the aorist, 
Herm., Yig., 215. 

1311. (TvyKcKpafjLcti, am involved in. Ajax, 895: o'ikto) <rvyK€Kpaix(vr)v. 

1312 f. The words &s alriav ye explain in what sense Eurydice called 
Creon the murderer of her sons, 1305. — eirecrK^irrov, Schol. : iireypdcpov. 
Wunder interprets : accusabaris a mortua hacce hujus et illius mortis (sc. 
of Hsemon and Megareus) culpam habere. 

1314. Creon is not quite satisfied with the information given, 1301, 
but desires further particulars of her death. — koI, supply 7}8e, she also. — 
aireKva-aro, cf. 1268, note. The middle voice, in connection with the 
qualifying expression ip <pova?s, signifies, did she kill herself? 

1315. onus, as an adv. of time, = eirei^r], when, as soon as ; convey- 
ing also the idea of cause. Besides giving a definite reply to the question, 
the messenger significantly repeats that Eurydice was impelled to the act 
by the news of Haemon's fate, in order that Creon may see that the whole 
blame rests upon him. 

1317 f. Constr. ; Tct5' ef e/xas curias ovk irore apfxocrei en &A\ov fipOT&v. 
The sense : this consequence of my guilt will never suit another man, that 
is, cannot be shifted from me to another and fit him. Concerning ef 
denoting the source from which a physical or moral fact originates, see 
Bernhardy, Gr. Synt., p. 227. 

1320. (pd/ii ervfjiov, I speak the literal truth. — iyeb repeated has a pe- 
culiar force : /, and I alone, have killed thee. 

1321. on rdxos = rdx^Ta, as frequently in adv. phrases. 

1325. top ovk — f) fjLrjSeva, who am not more than nobody. By this ex- 
pression Creon signifies that he is as much annihilated as if he were 
already dead. So Philoctetes, v. 1217, in his utter misery cries : er 
ovdev elfiL, I am nothing more. 

1326. Kepdrj irapaweh, you advise what is profitable ; like Kepdos \eyoi, 



NOTES. 241 

1032. The Chorus means that it is best for Creon to be hurried away 
from the sight of these bloody corpses, the last of his family, and vic- 
tims of his wicked folly. 

1327. tqlv (tcc eV) irocrlv. It means evils at the feet, and hence pres- 
ent. Constr. : ra iv irocrl /ca/ca fipaxicrrd i<rri ttpdrKTra, present evils soon- 
est dispatched are best. Buttmann, in Lexilog., L, p. 157, says iv Trocrt 
means nothing more than in der Nahe, close by, at hand. Hermann : 
Praesentia mala optimum est si quam brevissima sunt. 

1328. trey, let it come, used in a sense similar to (pav-firca, with 6 v-ira- 
tos (fJ.6pos) for its subject. Creon prays that his own fate or death may 
come as quickly as possible. — KdWurr' may be rendered most welcome. 
Constr. : (j>avf}rca vttoltos i/JLav \x.6pu>v 6 KaWtcrra (= KaWlcrras) <xycoi> rep- 
fxiap afiepav i/jLo\, which is correctly rendered by Hermann : veniat caedium 
per me factarum suprema, exoptatissime mihi ultimum diem adducens. 

1333. fjir)K€Ti used poetically for the simple fxi], 

1334. /neWovra t., that belongs to the future. — ti tccv irpoKeifxevccv, obj. 
of irpd<r<Teiv. The sense is : something of present duties have to be at- 
tended to. 

1335. /jL€\€l — fieteiv, they whose care it is will care for that. The 
Scholiast : ro7s 3-eots. Before oroicri supply toutois, to be connected 
with jueAe*. — twj/S* refers, like ravra, to Creon's prayer for a speedy 
death. 

1336. wv ip&fjLcu, what I long for, as in Ajax, 686 : tov/jlov wv ipa Keap, 
and id., 967. The compound (rvyKaTr]v^djuLr)v is poetically used for the 
simple form. Schol : &p fiovAo/jLai rvx^u, ravra Tjvfa^j/, what I long for, 
that have I prayed for. 

1337. The Chorus intimates that prayer will now avail nothing, since 
there is no escape from fated calamity. 

1339. &yoiT hv, addressed imploringly to his attendants, as above, v. 
1321. — /jidraioi/ is also a recurrence to the thought there expressed, that 
he is now as good as dead, and therefore vain, like the spirits of the de- 
parted. The optative here combines a wish with a command : Pray 
carry a vain (or dead) man out of sight. 

1341. ire — rdv^, addressed to the corpse of Eurydice. Comp. a sim- 
ilar expression, v. 725. — ad, now. — raj/5* is demonstrative, like the adv. 
here, for he is standing close by her body. 

1342. This verse is confessedly corrupt. The words 7rf teal 3-a), 
which, in the old books, stood after t5«, were probably a gloss. The 
passage expresses Creon's bewilderment. The sense : I know not how 
I can look either way, I know not which way to turn. — irSrepov does not, 
I conceive, refer to the dead bodies, but is a neuter, and, with irpbs, forms 
an adverbial phrase. Creon's mind is vacillating ; his reason is unsettled, 

11 



242 NOTES. 

a condition which yap is used to explain. For, he says, every thing be- 
fore me is slanting and distorted. 

1345. ra. $\ used absolutely as an adverb : as to the rest, besides. 
Compare the adverbial expressions ravra Se = eirera 5e, and then, in the 
apodosis, or second member. In this place no opposition is implied. 

1346. irSrfios Svs. ets^Aaro. The thought is so nearly connected with 
that in verse 1272, that one may be considered the sequence of the other. 
There Creon says that the god has heavily struck him on the head and 
impelled him into reckless ways ; and here, that a fate too heavy to be 
borne has leaped upon his head. This is the Grecian doctrine of fatality 
as exposed by our poet, v. 615-25 : the crime committed through the 
tempting of the demon, and the punishment for its commission — fatality 
and fate. The former, however, not being a necessity, can, by humility 
and prudence, be shunned ; the latter inevitably overtakes the criminal. 
Therefore the Chorus, in deducing the chief thought, says that — 

1348. to <ppop€?v, prudence, wisdom (= €uj3ou\m, 1050) is the very first 
condition of happiness, to <ppovstv here means religious wisdom, that 
which restrains presumption, and teaches the observance of the eternal 
laws. Comp. 1113 f. 

1349. Constr. : xph ^ /«j5ei/ a<r€TTT€?t> to. y* ek beovs. The sense : 
one ought never to commit impiety, at least in things pertaining to the gods, 
otherwise the following must be the consequence. 

1350. Constr. : jncydXoi Bh \6yoi tcov inrepavxow faroTiffavTss fitydXas 
irXrjyas itildaj-w yhpai to (ppoveiv. Render : but the great words of the in- 
solent, by repaying great {heavy) blows, teach at length to be wise. The 
active force here attributed to the arrogant words finely point to an im- 
portant article of the ancient belief, illustrated in this play, that the sin 
itself finds out and punishes the guilty. Concerning the aorist cdlSatav, 
used in the sense of a present, denoting something usual, see Felton's 
Clouds, p. 159. 



THE END, 



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Virgil's iEneid. 



With Explanatory Notes. By HENRY S. FRIEZE, Professor of Latii 
in the State University of Michigan. Illustrated, 12uio, 5W 
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The appearance of this edition of Virgil's iEneid will, it is be« 
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errors in the text, so annoying to the learner, have been carefully 
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From John H. Beunnee, President of ffiwasse College. 
* The typography, paper, and binding of Virgil's ^Eneid, by Prof. Freize, £J-e all thai 
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From Principal of Piedmont ( Ya.) Academy. 
u I have fcc thank you for a copy of Prof. Frieze's edition of the ^Eneid. I have be«o 
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Select Orations of M. Tullius Cicero : 

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Tbis edition of Cicero's Select Orations possesses some -special advantages for tb^ 
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From Thomas Chase, Tutor in Latin in Harvard University. 
w An edition of Cicero like Johnson's has long been wanted; and the excellence ol 
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Cicero's de Officiis : 

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In mis edition, a few historical notes have been introduced in cases where the 
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Selections from the first Five Books, together with the Twentylfafli 
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The publishers believe that in this edition of Livy a want is supplied which has 
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Beza's Latin Version of the New Testa- 
ment. 

12mo, 291 pages. 

The now acknowledged propriety of giving students of languages familiar works rot 
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Oresar's Commentaries on the Gallic War. 

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Curtius , History of Alexander the Great, though little used in the schools of thii 
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Mid the purity of its moral sentiments, ought to place it at least on a par with Caesar's 
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or too meagre, but happily exercpUfying the gokVn mean so desirable and yet • 

•ry difficult of attainment- 1 ' 



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Arnold's Greek Course. 

Revised, Corrected, and Improved, by the Rev. J. A. SPENCER, DJ&, 
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flES T GEEEK BOOK, on the Plan of the First Latin Book. 12mo, 254 pages* 

PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION TO GEEEK PEOSE COMPOSITION. 1Ssb$ 
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A complete, thorough, practical and easy Greek course is here presented. The 
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The "Eeader," besides extracts judiciously selected from the Greek classics, contain! 
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From the Eev. De. Coleman, Professor of Greek and latin, Princeton, JV. J. 

U I can, from the most satisfactory experience, bear testimony to the excellei>je of 
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Short and Comprehensive Greek Grammar 

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From, the Eev. Me. Andebson, New Orleans. 
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Koihner' s Greek Grammar : 

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reference, and philosophical analysis of the various forms of language, :'t is unsurpassed, 
we might say unequalled. 

The present translation is made by two distinguished American schclars, wee 
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Greek Ollendorff; 

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principles of language. 

The leading object of the author was to furnish a book which should sei*7e as an 
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In presenting these, the author has aimed to combine the strictest accuracy with 
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Exercises in Greek Composition. 

Adapted to the First Book of Xenophon's Anabasis. By JAMES R, 
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These Exercises consist of easy sentences, similar to those in the Anabasis, kaviBf 
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Xenophon's Anabasis 



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Plato's Apology and Crito ; 

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il&enlties in ascertaining the meaning of the text One of the most valuable feature! 
M this edition is the introduction, which occupies some forty pages, and contains a 
•lear and scholarly analysis of the Defence of the great philosopher beftre his Judg&t 
who had already determined on his death" 



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Selections from Herodotus ; 

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Herodotus is peculiarly adapted to academical reading. It has charms for the 
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Sophocles' (Edipus Tyrannus. 

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The inviting appearance of the text and the merit of the commentary have I 
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STANDARD CLASSICAL WORKS. 



Arnold's Greek Reading Book, containing the Substance of the 
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con. 12mo. 618 pages. 

Boise's Exercises in Greek Prose Composition. Adapted to 
the First Book of Xenophon's Anabasis. By James R. Boise, 
Prof, of Greek in University of Michigan. 12mo. 185 pages. 

Champlin's Short and Comprehensive Greek Grammar. By 
J. T. Champlin, Professor of Greek and Latin in YVaterville 
College. 12mo. 208 pages. 

First Lessons in Greek ; * or, the Beginner's Companion-Book 
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Hopkins's Grammar School, New Haven, Ct. 12mo. 

Hadley's Greek Grammar,* for Schools and Colleges. By James 
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Elements of the Greek Grammar. l2mo. 

Herodotus, Selections from ; comprising mainly such portions 
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Homer's Iliad, according to the Text of Wolf, with Notes, by 
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— _ Odyssey, according to the Text of Wolf, with Notes by 

John J. Owen. Sixteenth Edition. 12mo. 

Xunner's Greek Grammar. Translated by Professors Edwards 
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Kendrick'S Greek Ollendorff.* Being a Progressive Exhibition 
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drick, Prof, of Greek Language in the University of Rochester. 
12:no. 371 page?'. 

Owen's Xenophon's Anabaiis. A new and enlarged edition, 
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• Homer's Iliad. 12mo. 750 pages. 

Greek R3aier 12mo. 

Act3 of the Apostles, in Greek, with a Lexicon. 12mo. 

Homer's Odyssey. Tenth Edition. 12mo. 

Tinicydide3 With Map. 12mo. 700 pages. 

Xenophon's Cyropsedia. Eighth Edition. 12mo. 

Plato's Apology and Crito.* With Notes by W. S. Tyler, 
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A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVA1 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 


















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